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Rabat – At least 19 people have been killed and 164 injured during a plane crash this morning in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The disaster in Bangladesh shocked the region and world, and comes only a month after the deadly Air India crash.
The plane was a F-7 BGI aircraft, built for training personnel. It took off from a Bangladesh military base and reportedly went through technical difficulties.
After the pilot realized the issue, he reportedly tried to divert the plane away from residential areas. However, as the military base is in the city of Dhaka, he was unable to secure a safe landing into a non-populated area.
The plane tragically crashed into Milestone school and college in Dhaka’s Uttara neighbourhood as students were taking tests or attending classes. It rammed into the side of the school building, causing a gaping hole.
Emergency rescue teams continue to scramble and find people in the rubble and save lives within the destruction. Images of the crash have been circulated widely online through social media with many onlookers crying at the devastation caused by the accident. The videos also showed the aftermath with big fires emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky and firefighters desperately spraying water to put out the flames on the broken remains of the plane.
Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school, told Reuters in an interview, “When I was picking up my kids and went to the gate, I realized something had come from behind. I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke.”
Many students at the school, aged 12, 14 and 18, have been admitted to nearby hospitals. A total of around 164 students were injured, and all have been admitted to local hospitals to receive urgent medical assistance.
Muhammad Yunus, head of the Bangladesh interim government, said that the government is taking “necessary measures, to ensure all kinds of assistance…The loss suffered by the air-force, students, parents, teachers and staff, in this accident is irreparable.”
Bangladesh air organizations such as Bangladesh Red Crescent have called for donations to the families of those expected. The nation’s flag will be flown at half-mast on Tuesday, marking a day of mourning.
The incident came a little over a month after the Air India Crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This crash killed 241 of the passengers onboard the flight in what is being regarded as the worst aviation disaster in a decade.
