Chinese made BAF jet crashes into Dhaka college campus

A Bangladesh Air Force training jet has crashed into buildings at a college campus in the capital Dhaka, killing at least one person and injuring others on the ground.

The F-7 BGI aircraft took off at 1.06pm local time and crashed roughly 25 minutes later in the Diabari area of Uttara in the northern part of the capital, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR).

The military aircraft crashed onto the roof of the Milestone School and College canteen during lunchtime, Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo said, where large numbers of young students were present at the time.

Videos posted to social media in the aftermath of the crash showed fire and smoke emanating from the scene as a crowd of students fled to open ground in panic.

Lima Khan, a duty officer at the fire service control room, confirmed that at least one person died in the crash. Four others who were injured have been rushed to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for treatment.

The identities of the victims are yet to be released.

Bangladesh’s F-7 is a cheap variant of China’s Chengdu F-7, itself modelled on the Soviet MiG-21.