At least 27 dead, scores injured in Bangladesh plane crash
It was earlier reported that 164 people had been injured.
The F-7 BGI jet took off at 1:06pm on Monday (local time) from the Bangladesh Air Force base in Kurmitola, Dhaka, as part of a routine training mission, but encountered a mechanical failure, the spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury, said.
"The pilot ... made a valiant attempt to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas. Despite his best efforts, the aircraft ... crashed into a two-storey building belonging to Milestone School and College," he said.
The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate its cause.
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. Those dead included 25 children, a teacher and the pilot.
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 Chengdu F-7 is the licence-built version of the Soviet MiG-21.
FIRE, DESPAIR AT CRASH SITE
Videos of the aftermath of the crash showed a big fire near a lawn emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky, as crowds watched from a distance.
Firefighters sprayed water on the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure, footage filmed by Reuters showed.
"A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital," said Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where some victims were taken.
Images from the scene also showed people screaming and crying as others tried to comfort them.
"When I was picking (up) my kids and went to the gate, I realised something came from behind ... I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke," said Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school.
The incident comes a little over a month after an Air India plane crashed on top of a medical college hostel in neighbouring India's Ahmedabad city, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, marking the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
'I said no, it was my brother': The Hare and Bubbles' prankish air force days
Identical twins Bob and Rolly Janek arrived in New Zealand as refugees with their family. They went on to serve in the air force, despite their father's harrowing wartime experiences. Geoff Sloan speaks to the brothers about survival, service, and a fair bit of mischief. After their family fled Europe to escape the Russians after World War 2, identical 67-year-old twins Robert 'Bob' and Roland 'Rolly' Janek were determined to serve their new country, enlisting in the air force as soon as they could despite what their father had been through. Their Hungarian father, Joseph Zolten Janek, had been a pilot before the war and was conscripted into the Luftwaffe, Germany's air force, serving in France, Germany and Russia. 'He had no choice. He would have been shot otherwise, and his family taken away,' Bob said. Janek flew Junkers Ju 88 bombers and Ju 87 Stukas before switching to the Messerschmitt ME109 fighter plane. 'He did a lot of his fighting in Stalingrad as a 109 fighter pilot and was shot down twice. The first time was from anti-aircraft guns fired by his own side.' The second time Janek was shot down, he was captured by the Russians and imprisoned for six months before escaping. 'He flew from the start of the war right through until the end. He was very lucky to survive,' Bob said. When the war ended, Janek was one of about 2000 men rounded up by the Russians and forced to clear minefields, digging up the explosives by hand. 'He had to do that for five years. A lot of his friends got blown up – he was one of about 700 who survived,' Bob said. After being released, Janek took part in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to free the country from Soviet control. The 15-day uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops, killing or wounding thousands of Hungarians. After the revolution failed, the Janeks joined the 250 million Hungarians fleeing the country. 'Unfortunately my dad's brother was shot and killed by the Russians as they made their escape through swamps to reach the Austrian border,' Bob said. Joseph and Maria Janek successfully made it to Austria where Bob and Rolly were born. Bob said his dad never felt safe, always looking over his shoulder for the Russians, so in 1961 the construction engineer and his family were accepted by New Zealand as refugees. 'It would have been hard for mum and dad when they arrived in Auckland with two three-year-olds, two suitcases and only £6. 'I honour him for doing what he had to do to survive, and look after his family,' Bob said. Growing up in Point Chevalier, Auckland, the twins watched military aircraft coming and going from the airbase at Whenuapai, both deciding to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force when they turned 18. Bob, who had always wanted to be a firefighter, joined the Crash, Fire, Rescue Unit, while Rolly became a military police officer. The pair said their father was upset when they enlisted in 1976. 'He didn't talk to us for a year. He didn't want us to go through what he did, but eventually he came around,' Rolly said. The new recruits were flown to RNZAF Base Wigram to start their training. 'As soon as we got off the aircraft we heard one of the general service instructors say 'Oh no, f***ing twins'.' Rolly said they gave the instructors hell. 'We got away with blue murder. They couldn't tell us apart, and we also had the same initials – RJ,' he said. Bob said one night he was spotted visiting a 'wee lassie' in the women's barracks. 'I jumped out of a second-storey window and escaped. The instructors tried to charge me but I said no, it was my brother. But he denied it and said it was me.' The investigation was dropped because they couldn't identify which twin was responsible. Bob's quick footwork earned him the nickname 'The Hare', while Rolly's fondness for champagne earned him 'Bubbles'. However, there were occasions when the mischievous pair came unstuck. 'One of our instructors was a corporal called Digby Bentley. One night we both snuck off the base into town and got t-shirts made up saying 'Digby Bentley: Public Enemy Number One'. We got into a lot of trouble for that,' Rolly said. The twins had to clean toilets and scrub floors for two weeks as punishment, Bob said. Rolly was posted to RNZAF Base Ohakea after completing his military police training, while Bob remained at Wigram. Three years later, Bob was transferred to the air force base at Ohakea, only to find Rolly had just been posted to Whenuapai. 'We were never allowed to be on the same base together. I think we were too much trouble,' Rolly said. Even when they did catch up, things didn't always go smoothly. Said Bob: 'I was visiting the base at Whenuapai where Rolly was stationed, and he was on gate duty instructing all the vehicles to reverse into the car parks. 'I told Rolly to f*** off and parked nose first.' Rolly said Bob just wanted to be stubborn. 'He thought because I was his brother, he could push it, but I was a corporal and he was still a trainee. 'Bob kept mouthing off so I threw him in the back of the Morris Minor police van, and bounced him around in the back a bit as we drove to the cells where he cooled off overnight,' Rolly said. When the military police disbanded in the late 1980s, Bob suggested Rolly join him in the Crash, Fire, Rescue Unit. 'But they still never let us serve together,' Bob said. Over two decades in the RNZAF, Bob responded to 17 plane crashes, some of them fatal. 'I saw some pretty bad stuff. To deal with it, I just (mentally) put it in a bag, and froze it.' After his stint with the air force, Rolly joined the firefighting crew at Hamilton Airport, before becoming maintenance co-ordinator at Waikato University. Bob retired from the air force in 1996 and shifted to Christchurch where he spent nine years loading aircraft for Air New Zealand before becoming a steward. However, his aviation career was halted when he was badly hurt in the February 2011 earthquake. Bob now volunteers as a guide at the Air Force Museum in Wigram. He works alongside Chris Checketts, the son of World War 2 fighter ace Johnny Checketts, who also flew in Europe during the war. 'We haven't been able to find any records of my dad's forced service with the Germans. But it's possible our dads may have met each other in combat,' Bob said. Every Easter, Bob spends about $1200 buying 600 chocolate Easter bunnies to give to children and staff at Christchurch Hospital's cancer ward. 'I'll never stop doing that. They shouldn't be in there, us oldies should be,' Bob said. He said he has always tried to give back. 'When we came to New Zealand we didn't know anybody, and people helped us.' With Rolly living in Hamilton and Bob in Christchurch, the twins try to meet up every month, but claim their mischievous, trouble-making days are over. 'We're good boys now.'
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
The Hare and Bubbles' prankish air force days
Identical twins Bob (left) and Rolly Janek have led a story-stacked life, like their Hungarian father, Joseph, a pilot who was forced to fi ght for the Germans in World War 2, including over the skies of Stalingrad. Photo: Geoff Sloan After their family fled Europe to escape the Russians after World War 2, identical 67-year-old twins Robert 'Bob' and Roland 'Rolly' Janek were determined to serve their new country, enlisting in the air force as soon as they could despite what their father had been through. Their Hungarian father, Joseph Zolten Janek, had been a pilot before the war and was conscripted into the Luftwaffe, Germany's air force, serving in France, Germany and Russia. 'He had no choice. He would have been shot otherwise, and his family taken away,' Bob said. Janek flew Junkers Ju 88 bombers and Ju 87 Stukas before switching to the Messerschmitt ME109 fighter plane. 'He did a lot of his fighting in Stalingrad as a 109 fighter pilot and was shot down twice. The first time was from anti-aircraft guns fired by his own side.' The second time Janek was shot down, he was captured by the Russians and imprisoned for six months before escaping. 'He flew from the start of the war right through until the end. He was very lucky to survive,' Bob said. Joseph and Maria Janek were married in 1957 and Bob Janek with fellow firefighters during a formal Operation Wise Owl evening function in 1985. PHOTO: RNZAF When the war ended, Janek was one of about 2000 men rounded up by the Russians and forced to clear minefields, digging up the explosives by hand. 'He had to do that for five years. A lot of his friends got blown up – he was one of about 700 who survived,' Bob said. After being released, Janek took part in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to free the country from Soviet control. The 15-day uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops, killing or wounding thousands of Hungarians. After the revolution failed, the Janeks joined the 250 million Hungarians fleeing the country. 'Unfortunately my dad's brother was shot and killed by the Russians as they made their escape through swamps to reach the Austrian border,' Bob said. Joseph and Maria Janek successfully made it to Austria where Bob and Rolly were born. Bob said his dad never felt safe, always looking over his shoulder for the Russians, so in 1961 the construction engineer and his family were accepted by New Zealand as refugees. 'It would have been hard for mum and dad when they arrived in Auckland with two three-year-olds, two suitcases and only £6. 'I honour him for doing what he had to do to survive, and look after his family,' Bob said. Growing up in Point Chevalier, Auckland, the twins watched military aircraft coming and going from the airbase at Whenuapai, both deciding to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force when they turned 18. Bob, who had always wanted to be a firefighter, joined the Crash, Fire, Rescue Unit, while Rolly became a military police officer. The pair said their father was upset when they enlisted in 1976. 'He didn't talk to us for a year. He didn't want us to go through what he did, but eventually he came around,' Rolly said. The new recruits were flown to RNZAF Base Wigram to start their training. 'As soon as we got off the aircraft we heard one of the general service instructors say 'Oh no, f***ing twins'.' Rolly said they gave the instructors hell. 'We got away with blue murder. They couldn't tell us apart, and we also had the same initials – RJ,' he said. Bob said one night he was spotted visiting a 'wee lassie' in the women's barracks. 'I jumped out of a second-storey window and escaped. The instructors tried to charge me but I said no, it was my brother. But he denied it and said it was me.' The investigation was dropped because they couldn't identify which twin was responsible. Rolly (left) and Bob Janek served for 20 years in the RNZAF. PHOTO: RNZAF Bob's quick footwork earned him the nickname 'The Hare', while Rolly's fondness for champagne earned him 'Bubbles'. However, there were occasions when the mischievous pair came unstuck. 'One of our instructors was a corporal called Digby Bentley. One night we both snuck off the base into town and got t-shirts made up saying 'Digby Bentley: Public Enemy Number One'. We got into a lot of trouble for that,' Rolly said. The twins had to clean toilets and scrub floors for two weeks as punishment, Bob said. Rolly was posted to RNZAF Base Ohakea after completing his military police training, while Bob remained at Wigram. Three years later, Bob was transferred to the air force base at Ohakea, only to find Rolly had just been posted to Whenuapai. 'We were never allowed to be on the same base together. I think we were too much trouble,' Rolly said. Even when they did catch up, things didn't always go smoothly. Said Bob: 'I was visiting the base at Whenuapai where Rolly was stationed, and he was on gate duty instructing all the vehicles to reverse into the car parks. 'I told Rolly to f*** off and parked nose first.' Rolly said Bob just wanted to be stubborn. 'He thought because I was his brother, he could push it, but I was a corporal and he was still a trainee. 'Bob kept mouthing off so I threw him in the back of the Morris Minor police van, and bounced him around in the back a bit as we drove to the cells where he cooled off overnight,' Rolly said. When the military police disbanded in the late 1980s, Bob suggested Rolly join him in the Crash, Fire, Rescue Unit. 'But they still never let us serve together,' Bob said. Over two decades in the RNZAF, Bob responded to 17 plane crashes, some of them fatal. 'I saw some pretty bad stuff. To deal with it, I just (mentally) put it in a bag, and froze it.' After his stint with the air force, Rolly joined the firefighting crew at Hamilton Airport, before becoming maintenance co-ordinator at Waikato University. Rolly (left) and Bob Janek both served in RNZAF but were never stationed together. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN Bob retired from the air force in 1996 and shifted to Christchurch where he spent nine years loading aircraft for Air New Zealand before becoming a steward. However, his aviation career was halted when he was badly hurt in the February 2011 earthquake. Bob now volunteers as a guide at the Air Force Museum in Wigram. He works alongside Chris Checketts, the son of World War 2 fighter ace Johnny Checketts, who also flew in Europe during the war. 'We haven't been able to find any records of my dad's forced service with the Germans. But it's possible our dads may have met each other in combat,' Bob said. Every Easter, Bob spends about $1200 buying 600 chocolate Easter bunnies to give to children and staff at Christchurch Hospital's cancer ward. 'I'll never stop doing that. They shouldn't be in there, us oldies should be,' Bob said. He said he has always tried to give back. 'When we came to New Zealand we didn't know anybody, and people helped us.' With Rolly living in Hamilton and Bob in Christchurch, the twins try to meet up every month, but claim their mischievous, trouble-making days are over. 'We're good boys now.'
1News
22-07-2025
- 1News
At least 25 dead after air force training jet crashes into Bangladesh school
A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school in Dhaka, the country's capital, shortly after takeoff on Monday afternoon, killing the pilot and 24 other people, most of whom were students, officials said. The jet crashed and caught fire, leaving another 171 people, mostly students, injured. They were rescued from the school's smouldering two-story building, officials said, many with burns, taken away in helicopters, ambulances, motorised rickshaws and the arms of firefighters and parents. Initially, reports after the crash said 20 people died. Five died of their injuries overnight. Doctors said late Monday that the condition of about two dozen injured remained critical. The Chinese-made F-7 BGI training aircraft experienced a "technical malfunction" moments after take-off at 1.06pm (local time), and the pilot attempted to divert the plane to a less populated area before crashing into the campus of Milestone School and College, according to a statement from the military. Many relatives waited overnight at a specialised burn hospital for bodies of their loved ones. ADVERTISEMENT Around midnight, Mohammed Abdur Rahim was looking for his cousin Afia Akter in a hospital. 'We could not find my cousin. She is missing. Doctors here have asked us to go to other hospitals,' he told The Associated Press. Students said the school's buildings trembled violently, followed by a big explosion that sent them running for safety. A desperate scene soon unfolded at the crash site, as panicked relatives searched for loved ones. Screams filled the air at a nearby hospital. The Milestone school is in Dhaka's Uttara neighbourhood, which is roughly 11km drive from the AK Khandaker air force base. The school is in a densely populated area near a metro station and numerous shops and homes. Firemen stand next to swing as they work at the site of a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft that crashed into a school campus shortly after takeoff in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Source: Associated Press) The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Mohammed Toukir Islam, made "every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location", the military said, adding that it would investigate the cause of the accident. It is the deadliest plane crash in the Bangladeshi capital in recent memory. In 2008, another F-7 training jet crashed outside Dhaka, killing its pilot, who had ejected after he discovered a technical problem. The government announced a national day of mourning on Tuesday, with flags to fly at half-staff across the country. ADVERTISEMENT Families mourn loved ones Mosammat Sagorika, who scored four goals on Monday to defeat Nepal in an under 20 women's South Asian soccer championship match, dedicated the country's win to the victims of the jet crash. 'Many people have died, and many are injured. So, we all are sad," the 17-year-old Sagorika told reporters. At the crash site Monday afternoon, a father sprinted with his daughter cradled in his arms. A mother cried out, having found her younger child, but desperately searched for her older one. 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. (Source: Associated Press) Another father described his feeling of helplessness while waiting to learn the fate of his daughter. "The plane crashed on the building where my daughter was. My wife called me, but I was praying so I could not pick up," Jewel, who goes by one name, said at the scene. "When I came here I saw there was a huge fire. There was a dead body of a child." ADVERTISEMENT Luckily, his daughter was safe, he said, but he saw many other children suffering from burns. Students also scrambled to see what had happened. "We fought with the crowd and the soldiers to get close to the crash site in our school,' said Estiak Elahi Khan, who is in the 11th grade. "What I saw I can't describe that... that's terrible." Doctors at Uttara Adhunik Hospital said more than 60 students, many between the ages of 12 and 16, were transferred to a special hospital for burn victims. Summary: The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including death of a The Cosby Show actor, vape product recalled, and how working less makes us feel better. (Source: Breakfast) By Monday evening, rescuers continued to scour the debris, searching for bodies. A crane was being used to remove debris. Bangladesh's interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, also pledged an investigation, and he expressed his deep sorrow over the "heart-breaking accident". He called it "a moment of deep national grief". Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed shock and sadness. "Our hearts go out to the bereaved families," Modi said in a post on X. "India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance." Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not present at the time of the crash, said by phone that the school, with some 2000 students, offers classes from elementary grades through high school. "I was terrified watching videos on TV," the 16-year-old said. "My God! It's my school."
