A Bangladesh Air Force training jet plummeted into a school compound in Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 18 people, including the pilot and leaving 164 others injured, according to military officials.
The F-7 BGI aircraft went down shortly after it took off at 1:06 p.m. local time, slamming into Milestone School and College in the city’s Uttara area, where students were in classrooms or sitting for exams.
The jet burst into flames upon impact, the cause of which has yet to be determined.
Authorities described it as the deadliest plane crash to hit the Bangladeshi capital in recent memory.
Many of those injured were students, local media reported. The chaotic aftermath saw desperate rescuers using rickshaws and any available vehicles to ferry the wounded to nearby hospitals, while distressed relatives gathered at the scene.
Sixteen-year-old Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not on campus during the crash, expressed her shock while speaking with The Associated Press by phone.
“I was terrified watching videos on TV,” she said. “My God! It’s my school.”
The school, which serves around 2,000 students from elementary through twelfth grade, has not yet confirmed the names of those killed. Authorities also withheld the identities of the victims as of Monday evening.
