'People were screaming, running': Eyewitnesses recall Bangladesh air crash horror; death toll rises to 27

The crash of a Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet into the Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka has left a community devastated, with eyewitnesses describing scenes of fire, panic and heartbreak. At least 27 people, including students and the pilot, were killed and more than 170 injured after the F-7 BGI training jet plummeted into the school on Monday, triggering one of the deadliest aviation accidents in the country's recent history.

The aircraft, which took off from the Bangladesh Air Force Base in Kurmitola at 1.06pm local time, suffered a mechanical fault shortly after departure. Despite apparent attempts by the pilot to steer the jet away from densely populated areas, the plane struck a two-storey school building in the Uttara neighbourhood, igniting an inferno. Rescue teams, aided by military and emergency personnel, scrambled to retrieve bodies and rush survivors to hospitals, as parents searched frantically for their missing children.

'I saw fire and smoke everywhere’
Those who witnessed the crash and its aftermath described scenes of chaos and unbearable loss. “I saw the plane directly hit the building,” said Rezaul Islam, a teacher at the school, speaking to BBC Bangla. His colleague, Masud Tarik, recalled: “When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke... There were many guardians and kids here.”

Ahmed, a student at the school, told The Guardian: “I was eating at the school canteen when I suddenly heard a deafening noise. I saw the plane hit the building and then fall onto a smaller structure. It caught fire instantly. People were screaming and running. Flames engulfed many of the younger students.”

Another teacher, Mizanur Rahman, believed the pilot was trying to avoid the main school buildings. “Judging by the trajectory, it looked like the pilot was trying to reach the field behind the buildings – but probably didn’t make it.” He said many children were outside as classes were ending. “There was a massive blast and an inferno swept through the surrounding area, engulfing the children. Some of our teachers and staff are still missing,” he told The Guardian.

Grief, panic, and desperate searches
The human cost was evident throughout the day. One man wept as he described the loss of his eight-year-old nephew: “My beloved nephew is in the morgue right now,” he said, as quoted by BBC, his hand on the shoulder of the child’s father, who kept asking, “Where is my son?”

A teacher injured in the fire recounted: “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 suffered burns on both hands, his face and ears scorched.

Hospitals were overwhelmed. Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, told Reuters: “A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted.” At the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, eight patients remained in critical condition.

Some students rushed to see the aftermath. “We fought with the crowd and the soldiers to get close to the crash site in our school,” said Estiak Elahi Khan, an eleventh grader. “What I saw I can’t describe... that’s terrible.”

Rafiqa Taha, a 16-year-old student, watched the horror unfold on TV. “My God! It’s my school,” she said. “We literally saw skin being torn off.”

From her hospital bed, a young girl told Channel 24: “When we came out, we saw many students who had been charred.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed solidarity with Bangladesh, and a national day of mourning was declared.