The death toll from a devastating Bangladesh Air Force plane crash in Dhaka has risen to 27, officials confirmed Tuesday, with 25 children, a teacher, and the pilot among those killed after the aircraft slammed into a school and college campus.
The F-7 BGI fighter jet, part of a routine training mission, crashed shortly after takeoff at 1:06 p.m. local time on Monday from the airbase in Kurmitola. According to military officials, the aircraft experienced a mechanical failure before it went down, igniting buildings in a densely populated area of the capital.
On lookers watch through a damaged window as members of Bangladesh Air Force work at the site, after an air force training aircraft crashed into a building belonging to Milestone School and College, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
According to Reuters, the crash left 88 people hospitalized with burn injuries, as rescue teams sifted through charred debris and grieving families gathered near the scene.
“This is a national tragedy,” said Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, confirming the updated casualty figures.
Sabuja Begum, 40, a victim, receives treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, after an air force training aircraft crashed into a building belonging to Milestone School and College, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
The Bangladeshi government has declared a day of mourning, with flags flying at half-mast and special prayers offered in places of worship across the country.
The F-7 BGI is the most advanced variant in China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 fighter family. Bangladesh signed a deal for 16 of the aircraft in 2011, with deliveries completed two years later.
Women react at the site, after an air force training aircraft crashed into a building belong to Milestone School and College campus, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
The incident comes in the shadow of a recent aviation disaster in neighboring India, where an Air India jet crashed into a hostel, killing 260 people, marking the worst crash globally in a decade.
Investigations are ongoing as Bangladesh grapples with one of its deadliest aviation accidents in recent memory.
