At least 27 dead, mostly children, in Bangladesh air force jet crash

DHAKA: At least 25 children were among the 27 dead pulled from scorched buildings after a Bangladesh Air Force jet on a training mission crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials said on Tuesday, with 88 people being treated in hospital.

The F-7 BGI aircraft crashed soon after it took off at 1:06 p.m. (0706 GMT) on Monday from the airbase in Kurmitola in the capital on a routine training mission. The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure.

Visuals showed rescue workers scouring the charred buildings for debris as distressed family members surrounded the site.

Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, told reporters that 27 people had died and 88 were admitted to hospital with burn injuries.

Those dead included 25 children, a teacher and the pilot.

The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship.

The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced variant in China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane’s Information Group.

Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013.

The incident comes as neighbour India is still grappling with the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad last month, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground.