Milestone School plane crash: Death toll hits 19, over 50 students injured

At least 19 people have been killed and more than 50 students have been injured and burnt after a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) aircraft crashed inside Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Diabari.

The F-7 BGI training jet crashed shortly after takeoff around 1:06pm on Monday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The plane caught fire right after the crash. A plume of thick smoke could be seen from quite a distance. Eight Fire Service units rushed to the scene to put out the flames.

Shah Bulbul, a Milestone School and College spokesman, said: “The plane fell on the gate and crashed nearby. Classes were in session where the plane crashed with young students inside. The injured are being taken out one by one.”

Many of the victims were seen being taken away on stretchers and loaded into ambulances. Two platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have joined the rescue efforts and are helping maintain order at the site.

The burnt and injured have been taken to various hospitals, including Crescent Hospital, Uttara Adhunik Hospital, Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital, Uttara Women’s Medical College, Mansur Ali Medical College, Kurmitola General Hospital, and the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

The more serious burn victims were sent to the national institute.

Brig Gen Muhammad Zahed Kamal, director general of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, told reporters at the scene around 4:30pm that rescue workers had recovered 19 bodies from the rubble and that more than 50 injured and burnt people have been sent to hospitals.

Dr Shawon Bin Rahman, resident surgeon at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, had previously said: "So far, more than 50 have arrived. The number continues to rise. Most of the burn victims are students, and all of their conditions are critical.”

The identities of the dead have yet to be confirmed. The ISPR has not yet provided any information about the pilot.

Nazmul Islam, director of the administration branch of Crescent Hospital in Uttara, told bdnews24.com, "We have treated fifteen people. Two of them are teachers and the rest are students."

"We are treating those with minor burns here. Some are under observation. Those with more than 30 percent burns are being referred to the burn unit. Some who came with minor injuries have been administered first aid and advised to seek treatment at home."