logo
Dhaka jet tragedy kills 'young students'; Bangladesh Cricket Board issues statement: 'Profound sorrow over the tragic air crash'

Dhaka jet tragedy kills 'young students'; Bangladesh Cricket Board issues statement: 'Profound sorrow over the tragic air crash'

Time of India2 days ago
Firemen look for the survivors after a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft that crashed onto a school campus (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has expressed deep sorrow following the tragic crash of an F-7 BGI training aircraft that struck Milestone School & College in Dhaka's Uttara area on Monday.
The devastating incident left at least 20 people dead and over 150 injured, including students who were on campus when the crash occurred.
'The Bangladesh Cricket Board expresses profound sorrow over the tragic air crash at Milestone School & College in Dhaka. We stand in solidarity with the grieving families and all those affected. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to everyone impacted by this heartbreaking tragedy,' the BCB posted on X.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed also shared a heartfelt video on social media, offering his prayers and solidarity to the victims and their families.
The aircraft, identified as a Chinese-made F-7 BGI fighter jet, was on a routine training mission before it crashed at around 1:06 pm.
The impact caused widespread panic in the neighbourhood as emergency response teams, including fire services and military rescue squads, rushed to the scene.
Footage from the site showed thick smoke rising from the school premises as authorities worked to evacuate and assist the injured.
Poll
What is your main concern regarding the recent aircraft crash?
Loss of lives
Injury to students
Impact on safety regulations
Future of aviation training
A spokesperson for Milestone School and College said, 'The plane fell on the gate and crashed nearby. A class was in session where the plane crashed. The injured are being taken out one by one.'
Bangladesh army officials confirmed that the jet belonged to the air force, but have yet to release details on what caused the crash or whether the pilot managed to eject.
Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
also expressed condolences on X, writing, 'Deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of lives, many of them young students, in a tragic air crash in Dhaka. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families. We pray for the swift recovery of those injured. India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance.'
Authorities have launched a full investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Doha-bound Air India Express flight returns to Calicut airport 2 hours after take-off due to technical issues
Doha-bound Air India Express flight returns to Calicut airport 2 hours after take-off due to technical issues

Mint

timean hour ago

  • Mint

Doha-bound Air India Express flight returns to Calicut airport 2 hours after take-off due to technical issues

A Doha-bound Air India Express flight was forced to return to Calicut International Airport on Wednesday morning, approximately two hours after its departure, owing to a technical fault, the airline confirmed. The flight, IX 375, carrying 188 passengers including pilots and crew, took off from Calicut at around 9:07 am but landed back at 11:12 am after the crew noticed a technical issue mid-air. 'There was some technical issue in the aircraft's cabin AC. It was not an emergency landing,' an airport official clarified. The passengers were safely deboarded upon return. An Air India Express spokesperson described the return as a 'precautionary landing' due to a technical error. 'One of our flights returned to Kozhikode after take-off due to a technical issue,' the airline spokesperson said in an official statement. The airline acted promptly to manage the disruption. 'We arranged an alternative aircraft on priority, provided the guests with refreshments during the delay and the flight has since departed. We regret the inconvenience and reiterate that safety remains our top priority in every aspect of our operations,' the statement added. Further, the spokesperson reassured passengers that the alternate flight was scheduled to depart by 1:30 pm. 'Till then all arrangements, like food and water, have been made for the passengers at the airport,' the spokesperson confirmed. Air India Express emphasised that it is committed to maintaining the highest standards of passenger safety and operational reliability. Airport officials also indicated that engineers would either rectify the technical issue or an alternative aircraft would be used to complete the journey. This incident adds to the growing list of precautionary landings in recent months, underscoring the importance of stringent safety protocols within Indian aviation. (This is a developing story. More updates to follow.)

Canada city to honour Komagata Maru Indians with ‘Guru Nanak Jahaz Remembrance Day'
Canada city to honour Komagata Maru Indians with ‘Guru Nanak Jahaz Remembrance Day'

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

Canada city to honour Komagata Maru Indians with ‘Guru Nanak Jahaz Remembrance Day'

BATHINDA: The Surrey city council in British Columbia, Canada, has declared July 23 as 'Guru Nanak Jahaz Remembrance Day' to honour the 352 Indian passengers aboard the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, who were turned away from Vancouver port on the same day in 1914. The council's proclamation notes that the day had been named after Guru Nanak Jahaz, as the vessel had been rechristened so before the journey by Baba Gurdit Singh, giving the sojourn political, cultural, and spiritual significance. While the authorities at the time had said the Indians were asked to return as they suspected they were revolutionaries, many had called the decision to be the fallout of strained race relations in the Canadian city. The remembrance day is being observed to mark the 111th anniversary of the the ship being made to return. Earlier, the city council of Vancouver had proclaimed May 23 as Guru Nanak Jahaz (Komagata Maru) Day of Remembrance, as it was on May 23, 1914, that the ship had reached reached Burrard Inlet near Vancouver with 376 Indians, including 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus. Of them, only 24 could prove prior residency and were allowed entry into Canada. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learn More - How Watching Videos Can Boost Your Income TheDaddest Undo "Mayor of the city of Surrey, Brenda Locke, will declare the proclamation on July 23, while Vancouver mayor Ken Sim made the proclamation on May 23. The commemoration will include reflections and a shared act of remembrance honouring the passengers' moral courage and the enduring contributions of those who carried this memory forward to the heart of Canadian public life," said Abbotsford resident Gurvinder Singh Dhaliwal, who, along with Raj Singh Bhandal, runs the Guru Nanak Jahaz Heritage Society and is the force behind the proclamations. The proclamation also mentions the Guru Nanak Jahaz as a name of "deep spiritual and cultural meaning", overshadowed by the commonly used name Komagata Maru, which carried 376 persons who were denied disembarkation under exclusionary immigration laws and ultimately forced to depart from Vancouver's Burrard Inlet on July 23, 1914. "Today, descendants and communities across Canada remember this journey as a courageous stand against colonialism at home, only to be met with discrimination and injustice upon arrival," said the proclamation. Surrey is today home to one of the largest Sikh and Punjabi populations in Canada. "The city recognises the Guru Nanak Jahaz passengers' pursuit of dignity, equal opportunity, and justice, which faced discrimination under the Continuous Journey law. Their legacy stands as a continuous inspiration to fight against injustice," said the proclamation.

British F-35's recovery puts spotlight on daring ferry of stranded IAF Mirage from Mauritius
British F-35's recovery puts spotlight on daring ferry of stranded IAF Mirage from Mauritius

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

British F-35's recovery puts spotlight on daring ferry of stranded IAF Mirage from Mauritius

The evacuation of a stranded British F-35B jet from Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday rekindled memories of a similar problem the Indian Air Force faced two decades ago - one of its Mirage-2000 jets was badly damaged and stuck in Mauritius for 22 days before a risky and audacious operation succeeded in flying it back to India. Incidentally, it also landed in Thiruvananthapuram. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category healthcare Public Policy others Operations Management Management Data Analytics Artificial Intelligence Product Management Cybersecurity Degree Technology Data Science MBA Design Thinking PGDM Healthcare MCA Project Management Data Science Leadership CXO Digital Marketing Finance Others Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIM Lucknow CERT-IIML Healthcare Management India Starts on undefined Get Details The little known mission to bring back the plane will go down in India's aviation history as one of the most celebrated demonstrations of piloting skills, courage and technical ingenuity of IAF engineers who made the aircraft airworthy in a short time after it had suffered extensive damage because of a belly landing in Mauritius. It also put the spotlight on the grit and planning skill of the pilot, Sqn Ldr Jaspreet Singh, who braved dangerous weather and conducted three mid-air refuellings to bring back the repaired Mirage . He flew non-stop for five hours and 10 minutes on October 26, 2004 over the desolate Indian Ocean, where any malfunction en route would have meant almost certain disaster. "I remember that day as clearly as if it was yesterday," Jaspreet, who took retirement from the IAF in 2018, told PTI. Live Events "I was confident of undertaking this risky flight across the ocean as I had full faith in the team of exceptional technical personnel who had worked non-stop over two weeks to repair the aircraft," he said. "Military aviation is all about taking calculated risks when the mission demands, preparing for all possible contingencies and having your backup plans in place," he said. The French-built Mirage-2000 had crash-landed on October 4 at the Sir Seewoosagur-Ramgoolam International Airport in Port Louis after taking part in an air show. The belly landing had damaged the aircraft extensively, especially the underbelly auxiliary fuel tanks, the airframe, avionics and cockpit instrumentation. On the other hand, the USD 110 million F-35B jet suffered a technical snag while on a maritime exercise in the Indian Ocean and had to make an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport on June 14. The jet was part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the British Royal Navy . A team of British engineers was flown in to fix the stealth fighter jet, and it finally took off for Darwin , Australia on Tuesday morning after almost 37 days. Similarly, a group of engineers, pilots and one IL-76 transport aircraft with spares and one IL-78 refuelling tanker aircraft flew from India to Port Louis, Mauritius to fix the Mirage and help bring it back. The rectification team made the aircraft ready for ground runs by October 13 and the Mirage did its first test flight on October 14, just 10 days after the landing accident. The team was faced with a task that had no precedence, given that Mirage-2000 is not cleared by the manufacturer Dassault to do a no-wheels landing, even in an emergency. Recalling the mission, an IAF officer said that Jaspreet, then posted with a fighter squadron in the Central sector, was specially chosen as the pilot to fly the aircraft back to India. The ferry route is over one of the most desolate stretches of the Indian Ocean and even for a fully serviceable single engine fighter it is considered a highly challenging task, said the officer. The fact that the ferry would also involve multiple air to air refuelling added to the overall degree of difficulty, he said. Once the aircraft had been repaired, Jaspreet carried out one taxi test and three air test sorties between October 12 and 19, during which multiple problems were revealed related to its fly-by-wire system, rudder, data display screen, throttle , brakes and fuel gauges. The 2126 nautical mile (nearly 4000 kilometer) flight to India was initially planned for October 20, but severe weather in the second half of the route, ruled out air-to-air refueling. "The inclement weather ensured that one Mirage 2000, one IL-78, one IL-76, and more than 50 IAF personnel were now stranded with the possibility that the wait could go on for weeks," said Jaspreet. However, on the morning of October 25, satellite pictures revealed that the first 1000 nautical miles (NM) of the flight route from Mauritius to TVM was clear, allowing three air to air refuelling. With the window of opportunity closing, Air Headquarters signed off for the ferry flight to take off on October 26, 2004. Jaspreet and the fighter took off at 7.55 am from a wet runway with very little fuel so as not to over stress the airframe. He entered the clouds almost immediately. But he had to ensure the first refuelling 11 minutes after take-off. There was zero margin for error. None was made. The Mirage refuelled in time and climbed safely to 25,000 feet. A second refuelling was also done successfully. Since refuelling was not possible in the final leg because of bad weather, the team came up with a plan: Jaspreet would top up fuel from the IL-78 while still 1100 NM short of Thiruvananthapuram and climb to a level above 40,000 feet to fly unaided the rest of the way. Flying at a higher altitude and optimum speed, the Mirage would consume less fuel. But it also meant flying the last 2 hours at 43,000 feet at 0.92 mach speed (or 0.92 per cent of the speed of sound). This was well beyond what the aircraft had been flight tested for. If the calculations were wrong or if a malfunction resulted in higher fuel consumption, the Mirage would have been in trouble. Explaining the feat, an expert said the single engine, single pilot Mirage jet undertook the transoceanic flight with no alternative airfields to land (in case of an emergency), travelling alone in a radar-less airspace with no direct radio contact with ground control and with bad weather which would have prevented any search and rescue operation over the ocean in case of an ejection. Along the way things were not smooth for Jaspreet. One of its radio sets failed, the fuel gauges gave incorrect indications and the oxygen almost finished in the cockpit. Yet the Mirage landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram at 2.50 pm. The next day, Jaspreet flew the Mirage to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited airfield in Bengaluru where it was fully repaired and returned to operational service almost four months later. Jaspreet was conferred the 'Vayu Sena' (Gallantry) medal by the President of India for his sincerity, exceptional courage and professionalism beyond the call of duty. "The ferry of Mirage-2000 across a stretch of 2126 nautical miles was one of the most challenging, daring and risky peacetime operations ever undertaken by a fighter aircraft in the history of the IAF," Singh's citation reads. Documenting the mission, an internal note of the IAF said: "Given the situation, not too many air forces in the world would have been bold enough to attempt this ferry. The IAF needs to be proud of this mission and the professionalism and courage shown by its personnel."

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