At least 27 people have died after a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a campus of a private school in the country's capital, Dhaka, on Monday.
The F-7 BGI jet, a variant of a Chinese fighter, crashed into the campus of the Milestone School and College in the Uttara neighbourhood of Dhaka. The pilot was among the dead.
According to the military and a fire official cited by the Associated Press, over 170 people, mostly students, have been injured.
Bangladesh's military said that the jet took off from Bangladesh Air Force Base A K Khandaker in Dhaka's Kurmitola neighbourhood at 1:06pm local time and crashed soon after.
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It said that the aircraft experienced a “technical malfunction,” adding that a high-level Air Force committee will investigate the cause. The military also said the pilot tried to avoid densely populated areas but the jet hit a two-story building.
‘My best friend died right in front of me’
Farhan Hasan, a student at the Milestone School and College student told BBC Bangla, that he had finished an exam and left the classroom and was talking to his when the crash took place.
{{/usCountry}}Farhan Hasan, a student at the Milestone School and College student told BBC Bangla, that he had finished an exam and left the classroom and was talking to his when the crash took place.
{{/usCountry}}“My best friend, the one I was in the exam hall with, he died right in front of my eyes,” Hasan told BBC Bangla.
"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." he added.
Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school, said that he was at the gate to pick up his kids when something came from behind.
"When I was picking (up) my kids and went to the gate, I realised something came from behind ... I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke," said Tarik told Reuters.
"Students screamed ‘Save me, my body is burning’"
Sajjad Shadi, a student at Milestone School, told Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune, that he was there were still ten minutes left before the primary grade classes ended.
“I was on the field when the plane crashed—just two yards away from the building. There were still ten minutes left before the primary grade classes ended. The plane crashed through the left side of the first floor, near the stairs, and went out the other side," Shadi was quoted as saying by the daily.
He added that he saw six students and two teachers escape with his own eyes and that the condition of many was terrible.
“Students screamed, ‘Save me, my body is burning.’ Many were on fire. Some children walked out to their guardians, their bodies bloody and burnt. Some were in shock. Those whose flesh was falling off were wrapped in cloth and taken to ambulances,” he said, recounting the horror.