Bangladesh Jet crash Update: Protests to call for Accountability

31 people, including 25 students and a teacher, were killed when a Bangladesh Air Force training plane crashed into a Dhaka school on Monday. Many of the survivors who had been burned were pulled from the flaming structure. Students are currently demonstrating near the accident scene, demanding accountability, compensation for victims’ families, and an immediate end to the use of “outdated and unsafe” training planes. While the military conducts its investigation, Bangladesh marks a national day of sorrow.

Following the crash of an air force fighter jet into a school in Dhaka, hundreds of demonstrators have gathered in Bangladesh to call for accountability. When two government representatives visited the crash scene on Tuesday, students from the institution and other surrounding universities demonstrated. They yelled, “Why did our brothers die?” and demanded an actual death toll. “We want answers!”

What caused the Bangladesh Jet Crash?

Around 13:00 local time (07:00 GMT), the training plane took off from a Bangladesh Air Force Base in Dhaka and crashed shortly after in the Uttara neighbourhood.

The air force claimed in a statement that the F-7 fighter had encountered a mechanical malfunction. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Md Taukir Islam, had sought to manoeuvre it to a less populated location. He was one of the dead.

Rezaul Islam, a college instructor, told BBC Bangla that he witnessed the jet “directly” strike the structure. Masud Tarik, a different educator, said to the Reuters news agency that he heard an explosion: “I simply saw smoke and fire when I turned around. Many children and guardians were present.

Numerous rescue personnel were seen searching through the burned debris for survivors in photos taken at the scene in the hours following the collision. According to a statement from the military, an inquiry committee has been established to examine the occurrence.

Important points

• A Bangladesh Air Force plane crashed into a school and college campus, killing at least 20 people. Victims included students, injured and hospitalized over 170 others, including adults and children, many of whom suffered severe burns.
• The military’s public affairs department said that the F-7 BJI fighter jet crashed into the Milestone School and College campus.  It was being used for training. It crashed after taking off from a neighbouring base at 1:06 pm local time (12:36 pm IST).

• As terrified crowds watched, graphic images from the incident showed flames consuming a portion of the college grounds and dense black smoke billowing aloft.
• Firefighters were spotted dousing the jet’s wreckage after it crashed into a building. It left a huge crater and twisted metal in its wake as emergency personnel raced to the site.
• Muhammad Yunus, the acting prime minister of Bangladesh, expressed sympathy to the victims’ families and described the tragedy as “irreparable.” Along with promising “all kinds of assistance” to those impacted, he also promised a comprehensive probe into the crash’s cause.