A Bangladesh Air Force plane on a training flight crashed into a school in the capital Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 16 people, Bangladesh’s interim government has confirmed.
The F-7BGI aircraft, manufactured in China, crashed in the afternoon into the gate of a two-storey building of Milestone School and College, in the Uttara district, north of the capital.
Many children were present in the school at the time of the incident. Members of the Bangladeshi army and emergency services from the fire department and civil defense rushed to the scene, rescuing 27 people suffering from burns, according to private TV station Jamuna Television.
The emergency services were unable to give an exact number of casualties at the moment, as rescue operations were ongoing. They fear, however, that there may be many.
According to one doctor, more than 50 people, including children, were taken to hospital for treatment of burns.
A witness named Pintu, who was at the scene to pick up his child from school, described seeing the plane descend rapidly before crashing with a loud bang.
"Shortly after the bang, I saw a fireball burst. I couldn't see anything but flames at the time, and I ran for cover," she said. Pintu later found her son unharmed in the school grounds.
The cause of the accident is not yet known. The government has announced that it will open an investigation. The government has announced a national day of mourning on Tuesday to pay tribute to the victims.
