Update: Fighter jet crash in Dhaka school kills 16, over 100 injured

At least 16 people, most of them students, died on Monday when a fighter jet crashed into a school campus in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. This is one of the deadliest plane crashes in the country in recent decades.

The Chinese-made F-7 BGI fighter jet took off at 1:06 PM for a training flight but crashed shortly afterward into the Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka.

More than 100 people were injured in the crash. Among them, 83 are receiving treatment in different hospitals. Rescue operations began immediately, and firefighters and security personnel worked hard to control the fire.

A student, Shafiur Rahman Shafi, said, “We were on the playground when we suddenly heard a loud noise, the ground shook, and we saw the plane crash. Then fire broke out, and the army arrived shortly after.”

The government has declared Tuesday a National Day of Mourning. Families of the dead students are in deep sorrow and are trying to identify their children at the hospital.

Interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus expressed his deep sorrow, saying, “The loss suffered by the air force, students, teachers, parents, and staff of Milestone School is beyond repair. This is a painful moment for the whole nation.”

Before this, the deadliest plane crash in Bangladesh happened in 1984, which killed 49 people.