Aircraft Collides with School Grounds

A military training jet crashed into a school campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, causing numerous casualties. The Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI aircraft struck Uttara's Milestone School and College campus on Monday, July 21, according to Channel 24, citing the country's Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR). The F-7 BGI is a Chinese-manufactured jet. Videos on social media showed a burning wreckage and people visibly injured. Local fire official Lima Khan confirmed at least one fatality. Shah Bulbul, a spokesperson for Milestone School and College, informed BDnews24 that the plane fell onto the school gate and crashed nearby, where classes were in session with young students present. In a Facebook post, Milestone requested blood donations for the injured and advised people to avoid the accident site during rescue operations. Dr. Shawon Bin Rahman stated that 30 patients, mostly students with critical burns, had been received at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery's emergency department. Muhammad Yunus, the interim government's head in Bangladesh, conveyed his condolences and announced government efforts to investigate the accident's cause and provide aid. The F-7, a multirole fighter based on the Soviet-era MiG-21, is primarily used by Bangladesh for training fighter pilots. In previous incidents, an F-7 of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed in the Bay of Bengal in June this year, and in 2018, a Bengali F-7 crashed in Tangail's Madhupur upazila during a training flight.