Latest news with #Milestone School
Times of Oman
22-07-2025
- General
- Times of Oman
Death toll rises to 31, mostly students, after plane crashes into Dhaka school
Dhaka: The death toll from the crash of a Bangladesh Air Force training jet into a school in Dhaka has risen to 31, most of whom are pupils, officials said on Tuesday. The F-7BGI fighter jet crashed into the two-storey Milestone School and College in the north of the capital on Monday. The armed forces said in the afternoon that the death toll had risen to 31, without giving details. Twenty deaths and some 171 wounded were reported on Monday. Seven more people died of their injuries overnight. The crash occurred minutes after the plane took off on Monday afternoon, according to the Bangladeshi military. The pilot of the training aircraft noticed a technical malfunction soon after it took off from Dhaka's Kurmitola airbase. At the time of the crash, many children were still at the school, which teaches children from elementary class up to 12th grade. The government announced a day of national mourning today. The national flag has been lowered to half-mast at all public and private institutions.
New York Times
22-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
Children Were on Their School Lunch Break. Then a Plane Hit.
The third- and fourth-grade schoolchildren were settling into a typical lunch break in their classrooms on Monday when the plane crashed into their building. A fighter jet had suddenly flipped in midair moments before it slammed into the two-story building, said Abu Sayed Mohammad Waliullah, a teacher at the school in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, who had been chatting with other teachers outside. The plane exploded with a bang so loud it sounded like a bomb had gone off, he said. 'My mind went blank. I couldn't understand what had just happened,' Mr. Waliullah said. Then, after what seemed like 10 seconds, he heard another blast as the plane's jet fuel ignited. 'This time, it created a big, big fire,' Mr. Waliullah recalled. 'I saw at least two students flung away by the force.' At least 31 people were killed, including the pilot. The tragedy at the Milestone School and College has led to a national outpouring of grief. Most of those who died were schoolchildren. Another 165 people were wounded, according to a statement the military issued on Tuesday afternoon. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Arab News
22-07-2025
- General
- Arab News
How did a Bangladesh air force fighter jet crash into a school campus?
NEW DELHI: At least 25 children were among the 27 people killed when a Bangladesh Air Force plane crashed into a college and school campus in the capital city of Dhaka on Monday. Here is a look at what happened. HOW DID THE CRASH OCCUR? The fighter aircraft took off at 1:06 p.m. (0706 GMT) from the air force base in Dhaka's Kurmitola for a routine training mission, but experienced a mechanical failure soon after. The pilot attempted to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas to minimize civilian casualties and damage, but his efforts were unsuccessful and the jet crashed into a building. WHERE DID THE PLANE GO DOWN? The two-story building that the plane rammed into belonged to the Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Diabari area, located about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the air force base. Visuals from the scene showed the mangled remains of the aircraft dented into the side of the building, dismantling its iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure. HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE KILLED? The bodies of at least 27 people, including 25 children, a teacher, and the jet's pilot, were pulled out from the debris. More than 100 children and 15 other people were also injured, of whom 78 are still admitted in hospitals with burn injuries. WHICH AIRCRAFT WAS INVOLVED IN THE INCIDENT? The jet was an F-7 fighter aircraft — the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh had signed a contract in 2011 for 16 such planes, and deliveries were completed by 2013. HOW HAVE AUTHORITIES REACTED? The Bangladesh Air Force has formed a high-level investigation committee to probe the cause of the accident. Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country's interim government, has also vowed to 'take all necessary measures' to investigate its cause. In the meantime, the government says it is providing 'all kinds of assistance' to those affected.
France 24
22-07-2025
- France 24
Bangladesh mourns as toll from jet crash at school hits 27
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 on Monday. "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 on Tuesday 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 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. Children's trauma 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 Monday 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 Monday. © 2025 AFP
BBC News
21-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Dhaka crash: 'My friend died right in front of me'
Farhan Hasan had just finished an exam and left the classroom chatting to friends when a Bangladeshi air force training jet crashed into his school campus - killing at least 20 people."The burning plane was hitting the building right in front of my eyes," the Milestone School and College student told BBC from the school in a northern suburb of the capital, Dhaka shows a huge fire and thick smoke, after the aircraft slammed into a two-storey than 170 people were injured in the armed forces said that the F-7 jet had experienced a mechanical fault after taking off for a training exercise just after 13:00 local time (07:00 GMT). The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Md. Taukir Islam, was among those killed. Farhan, who was speaking to BBC Bangla alongside his uncle and his father, added: "My best friend, the one I was in the exam hall with, he died right in front of my eyes. "In front of my eyes... the plane went right over his head. And many parents were standing inside because the younger kids were coming out since it was the end of the school day... the plane took the parents along with it."A teacher at the college, Rezaul Islam, told the BBC that he saw the plane "directly" hit the teacher, Masud Tarik, told Reuters that he heard an explosion: "When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke... There were many guardians and kids here." Hours after the crash, in a residential area which is quite densely populated, huge crowds gathered with people standing on top of buildings to get a people ran in all directions, ambulances and volunteers worked to find their way to carry the injured and many bodies out of the Milestone School and least 30 ambulances were seen moving people woman seeking information at the scene told the BBC her son had called her right after the crash, but she had not heard from him since. More than 50 people, including children and adults, were taken to hospital with burns, a doctor at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery families and relatives of victims were inside the hospital - including Shah Alam, the uncle of a Year 8 boy, Tanvir Ahmed, who died in the crash."My beloved nephew is in the morgue right now," Mr Alam said holding on to his younger brother - Tanvir's father - who was unable to of the victims inside the burns hospital are minors - most of them are between the ages of 9 and 14. Many other members of the public came to the hospital to donate blood; while a number of politicians from the two prominent political parties Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami health ministry said victims have been admitted across seven hospitals in the Dhaka; while the interim government has announced a day of mourning on Tuesday across the country, when the national flag will be flown at pilot had tried to navigate the jet to a less populated area after the mechanical fault occurred, the armed forces statement said. He had only just taken off from an air force base in the capital. An investigation committee has been formed to look into the incident, the statement Yunus, the leader of Bangladesh's interim government, said "necessary measures" would be taken to investigate the cause of the incident and "ensure all kinds of assistance"."This is a moment of deep sorrow for the nation. I wish the injured a speedy recovery and instruct all authorities, including the hospitals concerned, to deal with the situation with utmost importance," he said in a post on social media site X.
