Fire, screams and panic: Viral videos show moments after Bangladesh air force jet crashed in Dhaka

Mint

21-07-2025

Bangladesh: Plumes of smoke billowed into the skies and locals ran helter-skelter as panic ensued with every passing minute moments after the deadly crash of Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft in northern Dhaka's Milestone School and College.
Videos of the tragic incident are now being widely circulated on social media.
At least 20 people were killed, and 171 others were injured after the Chinese-made F-7 BGI aircraft smashed into the premises of Milestone School and College in northern Dhaka's Uttara neighbourhood at around 1:30 pm (local time), on Monday, July 21.
An eleventh-grader from the Milestone School and College — where the F-7 BGI aircraft crashed — recounted the chilling moment when he saw the Chinese-made jet crash in front of the classrooms used by class 3 and class 4 students.
"The jet crashed right in front of my eyes, just 10 feet ahead of me. It hit the ground floor of a two-storey building around 1:15 pm, where classes for the primary section were taking place," he told Bangladeshi media outlet The Daily Star.
The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Mohammad Towkir Islam, was killed in the crash.
Bangladesh's interim leader, Mohammed Yunus, expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the incident in a post on X. "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.
The Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed due to a mechanical fault after taking off from the Bangladesh Air Force Base AK Khandaker in Kurmitola at 01:06 pm as part of a regular training, as per the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR)'s latest statement. Shahbul, father of a missing girl student, cries after a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft that crashed onto a school campus shortly after takeoff in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, July 21, 2025.AP/PTI(AP07_21_2025_000482B)
A high-level investigation committee has been formed by the Bangladesh Air Force to determine the cause of the accident, reported PTI.
"The number of injured people being brought to our facility is rising,' a doctor at National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (NIBPS) told reporters.
A teacher of the school, where the Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed, said that security personnel were putting bodies in body bags to be taken to Dhaka's combined military hospital from the damaged building, which housed classes from one to seven. Volunteers rescue an injured girl, after an air force training aircraft crashed into Milestone College campus, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Fire service officials earlier said the jet crashed atop a four-storey building of the school with a big bang and immediately caught fire.