logo
Death toll in Bangladesh fighter jet crash rises to at least 27

Death toll in Bangladesh fighter jet crash rises to at least 27

RTÉ News​6 days ago
At least 27 people were killed after a Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials said, with 88 people, including children, being treated in hospital.
.
The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure.
Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, told reporters that 27 people had died and 88 were admitted to hospital with burn injuries.
The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship.
The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate what happened.
The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013.
The crash comes weeks after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad in neighbouring India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Mother of Air India crash victim ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified
Mother of Air India crash victim ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified

The Journal

time5 hours ago

  • The Journal

Mother of Air India crash victim ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified

THE MOTHER OF a British Air India crash victim has said her family is 'heartbroken' after receiving news the remains of her son were wrongly identified, The Sunday Times reported. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on June 12, killing 241 people on board. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Among the British victims were Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, 39, and his husband Jamie, 45, who had been returning to Britain after celebrating their wedding anniversary in India. Mr Greenlaw-Meek's mother, Amanda Donaghey, told The Sunday Times she flew to India after the crash in order to find her son's remains, providing a DNA sample at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital to assist the identification process. Following a match on 20 June, she returned to the UK with Mr Greenlaw-Meek's coffin. But on 5 July, as Mr Greenlaw-Meek and his husband's families prepared to bury the married couple together, police told Ms Donaghey that DNA tests carried out in the UK showed Mr Greenlaw-Meek's remains were not in the coffin. 'We don't know what poor person is in that casket,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I had my doubts but to be told that was heartbreaking. 'This is an appalling thing to have happened,' she added. 'And we would now like the British Gvernment to do everything in its power to find out, and bring Fiongal home.' It was revealed last week the coffin of another repatriated British victim, 71-year-old Shobhana Patel, contained remains of multiple people, The Sunday Times reported. Mrs Patel was killed alongside her husband Ashok, 74, as they returned to the UK from a Hindu religious trip. Their son Miten Patel told The Sunday Times: 'There may have been a mistake done. Advertisement 'But for religious reasons we need to make sure my mother is my mother and not somebody else's remains. 'Knowing 100% that it is my mum is very important to us.' Shobhana and Ashok Patel were laid to rest last week, The Sunday Times said. International aviation lawyer James Healey-Pratt, whose firm Keystone Law is representing families of victims of the Air India crash, has told Times Radio the identification issues have raised concerns over the total number of victims whose identities may have been misattributed. 'We know that 12 caskets were repatriated from India to the UK,' he said. 'Of those 12, two had been mishandled, misidentified. 'And so if you extrapolate that sample, you're looking at 40 mishandled remains out of 240. 'So that's a very large number, but we simply don't know. 'And to date, the Indian authorities have not been transparent or helpful about that, which is why there was pressure put on by the families to the FCO and the Prime Minister's office. 'And this was actually mentioned in the meeting at Chequers between Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Modi on Thursday. 'So the families are waiting to hear, first thing next week, about what actions are really being done in India to provide some degree of assurance.' It is understood no blame is being put on any UK agency for the blunders, Mr Healy-Pratt previously told the PA news agency. The only surviving passenger on the plane was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who previously told The Sun it was a 'miracle' he was alive but felt 'terrible' he could not save his brother Ajay. A preliminary report into the incident from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found both of the plane's fuel switches moved to the 'cut-off' position 'immediately' after take-off, stopping fuel supply to the engine. It has sparked questions over whether the crash was deliberate.

Air India crash victim's mum horrified as authorities send wrong body back to the UK in a casket
Air India crash victim's mum horrified as authorities send wrong body back to the UK in a casket

The Irish Sun

time14 hours ago

  • The Irish Sun

Air India crash victim's mum horrified as authorities send wrong body back to the UK in a casket

A MUM whose son died in the Air India plane crash has been left horrified after authorities sent the wrong body back to the UK. Amanda Donaghey, 66, was left heartbroken and appalled after DNA evidence proved Advertisement 6 DNA evidence proved Air India crash passenger Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek's casket actually belonged to another victim Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Fiongal and husband Jamie filmed themselves waiting to board the doomed plane Credit: Instagram 6 All but one passenger died when the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad, India Credit: Reuters Fiongal, 39, had been to India celebrating his wedding anniversary with husband, Jamie, 45. The pair were all set to fly home to Britain on the doomed Flight AI171 when Moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, the pilots lost altitude as the plane came Footage captured the moment it smashed into a medical college hostel. Advertisement read more in Air India crash A total of 241 passengers and crew plus 19 people on the ground were all killed in the tragedy - including 52 Brits like Fiongal and Jamie. Amanda initially believed the two men had caught a flight home two days earlier until she received an emotional phone call from the dad of Fiongal. A brave Amanda then flew out to India shortly after being told both men were on the plane when it crashed. She went to look for her son or, in the worse case scenario, bring his remains home. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Exclusive Breaking She told "I remember all these burnt trees. The trees were scorched black. But there were still birds and squirrels in those trees, which I found quite profound. How pilots cutting engines sparked TWO plane disasters after South Korea & India crashes as calls for cockpit CCTV grow "It was like a bomb site. You would think it was from a war scene, but there were still these small birds twittering." Hours after the crash, it was confirmed that only Advertisement Despite the tragedy, Amanda remained determined to help find Fiongal's remains. She gave blood to help find a DNA match before being informed officials had found the body and sent it back to the UK. Jamie had already been identified by this point with both men's families hoping to lay them to rest next to each other. Amanda rushed back to the UK hoping to say her final goodbyes after being assured that Fiongal was in the casket. Advertisement The family had started to plan Fiongal's funeral when they received a gut-wrenching phone call from the police. A British coroner had completed a second, more thorough DNA test on the remains which were inside the casket. Fiongal's tragic final video A HEARTBREAKING final video posted by Fiongal came just hours before their tragic death in the Air India crash. In the chilling final clip filmed at Ahmedabad airport, Fiongal and Jamie, dressed in floral shirts and visibly happy, reflect on their trip. Fiongal says: "We are at the airport just boarding. Goodbye India. Ten-hour flight back to Jamie responds: "I don't know," prompting Fiongal's laughter and a teasing, "Thanks for your contribution." Fiongal jokes that his main lesson was "don't lose your patience with your partner," to which Jamie smiles and replies, "You snapped at me at the airport for having chai." Passengers mill in the background as Fiongal adds: "I'm going back to Britain happily, happily calm." Earlier social media posts from the couple showed their experiences in Ahmedabad, including a seven-hour car journey to a stunning hotel. In one clip, Fiongal lies on a large bed beside a giant swing, describing the hotel as "beautiful" and saying he felt "very, very happy." Their time in India was captured in a series of posts showing henna tattoos, shopping for fabrics and gifts, and riding in a tuk-tuk through busy streets. On their final night, Fiongal reflected: "So, it's our last night in India and we've had a magical experience. Some mind-blowing things have happened. "We are going to put all this together and create a vlog. It's my first ever vlog about the whole trip and we want to share it." Jamie added: "We have been on quite a journey and then spending our last night here in this beautiful hotel, it's really been a great way to round off the trip." They did not belong to Fiongal. "It was heartbreaking," Amanda said. Advertisement "We don't know what poor person is in that casket. This is an appalling thing to have happened." Amanda's experience is tragically just one of many parents struggling to find closure after the crash due to a mix up of many caskets. NHS microbiologist Shobhana Patel, 71, and her husband Ashok, 74, both The couple, from Orpington, Kent , were repatriated in different coffins but DNA tests in Britain Advertisement One And in another It is thought that only Indian authorities carried out DNA tests on victims with no input from any international agency. India's Ministry of External Affairs said: 'All remains were handled with professionalism.' Advertisement Brit families previously slammed the chaotic ground operation following the horror smash on June 12. One relative reportedly blasted the "lack of transparency and oversight in the identification and handling of remains". 6 Brit families previously slammed the chaotic ground operation following the horror smash on June 12 Credit: AFP 6 Vishwash Ramesh was the sole survivor of the Air India crash Credit: Dan Charity Advertisement 6

Twenty-five children among the dead after fighter jet crashed into school
Twenty-five children among the dead after fighter jet crashed into school

The Journal

time6 days ago

  • The Journal

Twenty-five children among the dead after fighter jet crashed into school

FAMILIES AND TEACHERS gathered today at a Bangladeshi school where a training fighter jet crashed, killing 25 children and two others in the country's deadliest aviation accident in decades. Most of the victims were pupils who had just been let out of class when the Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft slammed into the Milestone School and College yesterday. 'So far, 27 people have died. Among them, 25 are children and one is a pilot,' said Sayedur Rahman from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, updating an earlier death toll of 20. 'Seventy-eight people are being treated in different hospitals,' added Rahman, special assistant to the ministry's chief adviser. More than 170 people were injured in the crash, said the military which is investigating the cause. The usually bustling school was eerily quiet this morning, with classes cancelled. 'Along with the children, the school has lost its life,' said teacher Shahadat Hossain, whose son narrowly escaped the crash. 'There are two swings in front of the affected building. During lunch breaks and after school, children play there. Even yesterday, around the time the plane crashed, students were on those swings,' the 45-year-old told news agency AFP. Around 7,000 pupils are enrolled at the school, including Abul Bashar's sixth-grade son whose best friend was killed. 'He came out just two or three minutes before the accident occurred,' said Bashar. 'He couldn't sleep through the night and forced me to bring him to school this morning,' the father added, his son standing in silence. Advertisement Children's trauma People crowd a street as fire fighting trucks remain on standby outside the school. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo School authorities have collected bags, shoes, and identity cards of children from the site. Pahn Chakma, a senior police officer, said that armed forces personnel are still sweeping the area. 'They will hand over the place to the police later, and we will then collect evidence, including any human remains or belongings of students and others,' Chakma said. Air Force personnel on duty said the remnants of the fighter jet were removed on last night, but they are still scouring the site for evidence. 'I don't know how long it will take to return to normalcy, to relieve the children from this trauma,' teacher Hossain said. On Monday night, school authorities held prayers at the campus. Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus expressed 'deep grief and sorrow' over the incident and declared a day of national mourning. 'The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,' he said. 'This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.' The military said the pilot, flight lieutenant Towkir Islam, was on a routine training mission when the jet 'reportedly encountered a mechanical failure'. He tried to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas but, 'despite his best efforts', crashed into the two-storey school building, the military said yesterday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store