Bangladesh: At least 31 dead after military plane crashes into school

A Bangladeshi Air Force plane crashed into a school in the capital, Dhaka, Monday, killing at least 31 people, among them many students.

The event occurred during a training flight. It is the country's deadliest air disaster in decades. The reason for the fighter's crash over the Milestone School and College campus in the northwest of the capital is not yet clear.

The press service of the Bangladeshi military (ISPR) further added that there are more than 100 injured, most of them students between the ages of 8 and 12.

Several parents of students approached this hospital to try to identify their children.

The Chinese-made F-7 BGI aircraft took off at 1:06 p.m. local time and crashed shortly after on the school campus of Milestone School and College, in northwest Dhaka.

Its pilot, Tukir Islam Sagar, died of injuries sustained in the crash, the military staff press service said.

According to the military, the pilot reportedly attempted unsuccessfully to steer his plane away from populated areas of the capital.

Rescue teams were deployed to the scene, where they continued to pull victims from the rubble on stretchers, observed an AFP photographer.

Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim government and Nobel Peace Prize laureate expressed "deep sadness and grief" over the incident in a post on X.

"The loss suffered by the Air Force, students, parents, teachers and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable," said Yunus, who said the government will investigate what happened.

Authorities declared a national day of mourning throughout the country for Tuesday.