'Loud bang, then screams': Eyewitnesses recount horror after Bangladesh Air Force jet crash

The Chinese-made F-7 aircraft crashed onto Milestone School and College in nothern Dhaka's Uttara neighbourhood on Monday afternoon.

Updated on: Jul 21, 2025, 22:06:05 IST

By HT News Desk

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"The jet crashed right in front of my eyes, just 10 feet ahead of me," Fahim Hossain, an eyewitness to the deadly crash of Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft in northern Dhaka's Milestone School and College, said.

Firefighters and army members engaged in rescue work next to the wreckage of the air force training aircraft that crashed into Milestone College campus in Dhaka. (Reuters)

The aircraft crashed onto Milestone College in northern Dhaka's Uttara neighbourhood at around 1:30 pm (local time), killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 100 others, Reuters reported citing local reports. Follow Bangladesh jet crash live updates

The Bangladesh military, however, said that at least 18 people, including the pilot, were killed.

Hossain, an eleventh-grade student at the institution, witnessed the horrifying crash of the Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft. "The jet crashed right in front of my eyes, just 10 feet ahead of me. It hit the ground floor of a two-storey building around 1:15 pm, where classes for the primary section were taking place," he told The Daily Star.

Hossain said that the ground flood was severely damaged by the impact of the crash.

ALSO READ | Dhaka jet crash: Who was the pilot of Bangladesh Air Force's F-7 aircraft?

Rasel Mia, reportedly a staff member of the Air Force, arrived at the crash site shortly after the incident. "What happened inside the ground flood is beyond description," he said.

Meanwhile, a first-year HSC student, Ariful Islam, said he was on the seventh floor of a building, looking out the window, when he suddenly saw a plane crash into the adjacent building's first floor, where junior students were in class.

"The entire area was engulfed in flames with a loud bang, and screams began coming from the building. We hurriedly evacuated our building," Islam told The Daily Star.

ALSO READ | First visuals from Bangladesh Air Force jet crash show thick smoke, fire | Video

Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not present in the premises at the time, told The Associated Press that the school offers elementary to 12th-grade classes with around 2,000 students. "I was terrified watching videos on TV. My God! It is my school," the 16-year-old said.

In a post on X, Yunus expressed "deep grief and sorrow". He said, "The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable."

As rescue operations remained underway, multiple ambulances were seen entering and exiting the campus. Worried parents, guardians, and siblings of students were growing anxious and desperate for information.

"I have spoken to my son over the phone, but I still haven't found him here," said one of the fathers waiting near the College's entrance.

Students who managed to escape the deadly crash were visibly shaken and in distress, adding that the trauma was clearly there on their faces.

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