20 dead after military plane crashes into school school campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh

A normal day of classes at a school in the capital of Bangladesh quickly became a scene of terror when a plane crashed into a college campus killing 20 and injuring more than 170.

At least 20 people, mostly students, have been killed after a military plane crashed into a school campus in Dhaka in Bangladesh.

More than 170 people were injured in what was the deadliest aviation incident in the country in decades on Monday night, while 83 were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment, the office of interim leader Muhammad Yunus said.

A military statement said 20 people were killed, including the pilot, and 171 others injured when the jet crashed following a mechanical failure.

At least 51 people, mostly students, were undergoing treatment at Dhaka’s National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, its director Mohammad Nasir Uddin told AFP.

The Chinese-made F-7 BJI plane - a training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force - took off at 1.06 pm local time ( about 5pm AEDT) and crashed soon after moments students were let out of classes at the Milestone School and College campus in the Bangladeshi capital.

Firemen look for survivors after the plane crashed onto the school campus shortly after takeoff in Dhaka. Picture: AP

A witness said he had heard a huge blast that felt like an earthquake.

“We have two playgrounds, one for the senior students and one for the juniors,” said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, a student of the school.

“We were on the playground for the seniors. Suddenly one of the two fighter planes crashed here (in the junior playground),” he told AFP.

“It created a boom, and it felt like a quake. Then it caught fire, and the army reached the spot later.”

The Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into the school killing 16 people. Picture: AFP

Bangladesh's fire service personnel clear the remains of the plane. Picture: AFP

Bangladesh’s interim government announced a day of national mourning as grieving parents and relatives of the victims thronged the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka.

Many were trying to identify their children by their uniform and other belongings, local media reported.

Mr Yunus expressed “deep grief and sorrow” over the incident in a post on X.

“The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,” he said.

“This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.”

The incident comes just a month after an Air India plane crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people.

Originally published as 20 dead after military plane crashes into school school campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh