Dhaka [Bangladesh], July 22: The death toll from the crash of a Bangladesh Air Force training jet onto a school in Dhaka has risen to 20, mostly children, officials said on Monday, as the country's leader described it as a day of "profound grief." Many others who suffered severe burn injuries were receiving treatment in hospital.
The Chinese-made F-7BGI fighter jet crashed into the two-storey Milestone School and College in the north of the capital.
At the time of the crash many children were still present at the school, which teaches children from elementary up to 12th grade.
The crash occurred minutes after the plane took off, according to the Bangladesh military's media division.
It said that the pilot of the training aircraft noticed a technical malfunction soon after it took off from Dhaka's Kurmitola airbase at 1:06 pm (0706 GMT) and tried to fly to a thinly populated area.
The army said 20 people were killed, including the pilot, and 171 people were injured.
Sayedur Rahman, an assistant to the head of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, said that many of the injured were taken to the Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka.
He said more than 100 people were undergoing treatment at different hospitals. The government announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday to pay respect to those who died.
Yunus posted a message of condolence on Facebook expressing his shock over the crash.
"This is a moment of profound grief for the nation," Yunus said. He wished a speedy recovery for those injured.
The government will take the necessary measures to investigate the cause of the accident, he said.
Source: Qatar Tribune
