London and Belgrada, Serbia – at least 20 people died and 171 were injured when a Bangladesh Air Force training plane crashed near a school in the Dhaka capital on Monday, authorities said.
The plane crashed on the land of the School and the University of the Milestone, in the neighborhood of the northern Uttara of the city, near the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
“The rescue operation is still ongoing,” Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury, director of the Inter -Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) of the Bangladesh Armed Forces told ABC News. “It will take longer. All wounded or dead have been taken to four different hospitals.”
Bangladesh emergency and security personnel are shown at the site of a plane crash in Dhaka on July 21, 2025.
Abdul Goni/AFP through Getty Images
The single-square-manufacturing F-7 BGI plane crashed shortly after takeoff after experiencing a “mechanical failure,” Chowdhury said. THE PILOT – FLT. Lieutenant MD Towkir Islam – “He made a brave attempt to divert the plane from densely populated areas,” Chowdhury said. “Despite its best efforts, the plane crashed tragically.”
Islam died from their wounds while they took him to the hospital, added Chowdhury.
“It was a training mission, part of regular training, not a larger exercise,” said Chowdhury. He added that the ISPR does not know if the aircraft had previous technical problems.
Chowdhury said the rescue operation on the impact site is in progress. “There may still be people inside,” he said. “We are not sure if everyone is outside the building. Smoke and heat are very high.”
A senior teacher of the school told ABC News that around 4,000 students study at the center. “But when the incident occurred, around 1,000 students were present at the campus,” said the teacher. The plane crashed next to the school cafeteria.
This is a development story. Consult the updates again.
