'Hands Burnt, Face Scorched': Eyewitnesses At Dhaka School Recall Bangladesh Jet Crash Horror

Last Updated:July 22, 2025, 08:52 IST

Eyewitnesses of the Bangladesh jet crash described scenes of chaos, flames, and panic as the jet crashed into the school, with students fleeing and teachers suffering burns.

Firemen look for the survivors after a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft that crashed onto a school campus shortly after takeoff in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Photo: AP)

Monday’s Bangladesh Air Force training fighter jet crash killed at least 20 people, mostly students. Multiple reports said more than 170 others were injured in one of the deadliest aviation accidents in the country’s history.

According to officials, the F-7 BGI aircraft, a training fighter jet manufactured in China, experienced a “mechanical fault" moments after takeoff. Soon after, it crashed into the two-storey building of Milestone School and College at Diabari in Dhaka’s Uttara.

The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Mohammad Towkir Islam, was killed in the crash.

Videos of the aftermath of the crash showed a big fire near a lawn emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky, as crowds watched from a distance.

Firefighters sprayed water on the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure.

BANGLADESH JET CRASH: EYEWITNESSES’ ACCOUNT

A teacher at the school, recalling the jet crash horror on the premises, said that security personnel were putting bodies in body bags to be taken to Dhaka’s combined military hospital from the damaged building, which housed classes from one to seven.

“Dozens of ambulances were carrying the wounded to nearby hospitals," she said.

Fahim Hossain, an eleventh-grade student, said that the jet crashed right in front of his eyes, just 10 feet ahead of him.

“It hit the ground floor of a two-storey building around 1.15 pm, where classes for the primary section were taking place," Fahim told The Daily Star.

Recounting the experience, another teacher, who was injured in the incident, said students were lining up to leave the school just as the final bell rang when the flames erupted.

“There was no warning. Before we even understood what was happening, there were flames all around. Visibility dropped instantly. All I could see was fire, then smoke," the teacher said.

“Both of my hands were burnt. I’m also experiencing breathing difficulties, and my face and ears are scorched, the teacher added.

Other witnesses said many injured people were carried away by spontaneous volunteers and army troops from the crash site, even in rickshaws and tricycle vans.

“We transported some of the injured with burns onto rickshaws and vans. Their clothes were ripped apart, torn, and some even were walking towards rescue vehicles with burn injuries on their bodies," said Nuruzzaman Mridha, a teacher of the school.

Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not present at the time of the crash, told The Associated Press that the school offers classes from elementary to twelfth grade.

“A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital," said Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where some victims were taken.

“When I was picking up my kids and went to the gate, I realised something came from behind. I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke," said Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school.

Many relatives waited overnight at a specialised burn hospital for the bodies of their loved ones.

Around midnight, Mohammed Abdur Rahim was looking for his cousin Afia Akter in a hospital.

“We could not find my cousin. She is missing. Doctors here have asked us to go to other hospitals," he told The Associated Press.

Students said the school’s buildings trembled violently, followed by a big explosion that sent them running for safety. A desperate scene soon unfolded at the crash site, as panicked relatives searched for loved ones. Screams filled the air at a nearby hospital.

At the crash site, a father sprinted with his daughter cradled in his arms. A mother cried out, having found her younger child, but desperately searched for her older one.

Another father described his feeling of helplessness while waiting to learn the fate of his daughter.

“The plane crashed into the building where my daughter was. My wife called me, but I was praying, so I could not pick up," Jewel, who goes by one name, said at the scene.

“When I came here, I saw there was a huge fire. There was a dead body of a child."

Luckily, his daughter was safe, he said, but he saw many other children suffering from burns.

Students also scrambled to see what had happened.

“We fought with the crowd and the soldiers to get close to the crash site in our school," said Estiak Elahi Khan, who is in the 11th grade.

“What I saw I can’t describe that, that’s terrible," Khan added.

BANGLADESH JET CRASH

An updated statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR), the media wing of the military, stated, “Twenty people, including Flight Lieutenant Toukir Islam, have so far been killed and 171 others injured in the crash."

The pilot attempted to steer the aircraft away from densely populated areas. However, despite his efforts, the aircraft tragically crashed into the two-storey building of the school, said the ISPR.

The jet crashed “due to a mechanical fault" (the details of which will be informed after investigation) after taking off from the Bangladesh Air Force Base AK Khandaker in Kurmitola at 01.06 pm as part of a regular training, the statement mentioned.

News world 'Hands Burnt, Face Scorched': Eyewitnesses At Dhaka School Recall Bangladesh Jet Crash Horror