Nineteen people – including 16 students – died after a Bangladesh fighter jet crashed into the campus of the Milestone School and College in capital Dhaka’s Uttara neighbourhood Monday.
The pilot – unconfirmed reports have identified him as Flight Lieutenant Taiquir – and two teachers were also killed in the crash that took place early afternoon.
An unspecified number of people have been injured.
The plane that crashed was an F-7BGI, an advanced version of the Chinese J-7 fighter aircraft and one of 16 (now 15) operated by the Bangladesh Air Force.
Local reports indicate the F-7BGI was on a routine training flight when it crashed.
TV footage from the crash site and videos shared online showed fire and smoke billowing while emergency personnel try to put out the blaze. One haunting clip, shared by news agency PTI, showed the wrecked jet engine buried under the rubble of what was once a classroom.
Another video, shot from a distance, showed a swarm of people rushing to the burning wreckage and a massive fire burning through the one-storey school building.
And a third video, perhaps the most distressing of the lot, showed an injured man – covered in soot and debris, with his clothes torn and hanging by threads – led away by a bystander.