20, mostly students, killed as Bangladesh Air Force jet crashes into Dhaka school

A Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed into a college campus in Dhaka, killing at least 20 and injuring over 170 people.

At least 20 people, mostly students, were killed and more than 170 others injured as a Bangladesh Air Force's F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed into a college campus in the capital city of Dhaka on Monday, news agency Reuters reported.

An ambulance passes near the spot after an air force training aircraft crashed into Milestone College campus, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 21, 2025. (REUTERS)

The jet crashed in Dhaka's northern area of Uttara, the military's public relations department said in a statement.

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"Bangladesh Air Force's F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed in Uttara. The aircraft took off at 13:06 (local time)," it said.

Firefighters and army members work next to the wreckage of an air force training aircraft after it crashed into Milestone College campus, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday (REUTERS)

Bangladesh Air Force F-7 jet crash in Dhaka:

1. A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school in Dhaka shortly after takeoff on Monday afternoon, catching fire and killing the pilot and at least 19 other people, most of whom were students, officials said. At least 171 people were injured, officials said.
2. Videos of the aftermath of the Bangladesh Air Force jet crash in Dhaka's northern area of Uttara showed a big fire near a lawn emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky, as crowds watched from a distance.
3. Firefighters sprayed water on the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure, Reuters TV visuals showed.
4. "A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital," said Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where some victims were taken.
5. Visuals also showed people screaming and crying as others tried to comfort them.
6. "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," Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school, told the news agency.
7. Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh's interim government, said "necessary measures" would be taken to investigate the cause of the accident and “ensure all kinds of assistance”. "The loss suffered by the Air Force...students, parents, teachers and staff, and others in this accident is irreparable," he said.
8. The incident comes a little over a month after an Air India plane crashed on top of a medical college hostel in India's Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, marking the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.