Is Chinese-origin jet to blame for Bangladesh air force plane crash?

Monday turned into a day of mourning and shock in Bangladesh after a military jet crashed into a school campus in Dhaka, killing over 25 people, including the pilot and several children, and injuring more than 170 others.

The crash, one of the deadliest aviation disasters in the country’s recent memory, took place shortly after the Chinese-origin F-7 BGI fighter jet took off from the Air Force Base AK Khandaker. Within minutes, it plummeted into Milestone School and College in Uttara, just as students were lining up to leave for the day.

Scenes of chaos unfolded almost instantly, smoke billowed over the site, flames engulfed parts of the school, and screams echoed through the building. Parents, locals, and emergency responders rushed in to pull the injured from the rubble.

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The government has since declared a national day of mourning, while a high-level investigation is underway to uncover what led to the fatal crash.

Here’s what we know so far.

‘Saw little children running, saw bodies on fire’

Purnima Das, a teacher at Milestone School and College, had just returned to the faculty room after finishing a class when a loud bang shook the building.

Startled, she rushed out to understand what had happened — only to be met with a horrifying scene. Flames had engulfed the school corridor, and smoke was quickly filling the two-storey building. The section of the school that was hit housed mostly primary and secondary students.

“By then, 80 per cent of the children in that building had gone home. And then there was a terrible noise in the building, before I knew it, I saw little children running. I saw that their bodies were on fire," Das wrote in a post on Facebook.

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What do we know about Chinese-made F-7 plane that crashed in Bangladesh?

In the chaos, she ran to the washroom and splashed water on some of the students who had suffered burns, hoping to relieve their pain. But panic and fire were already spreading rapidly across the school.

“When I came out of the room, I saw so much fire. The entire corridor was on fire. Just two feet away, a colleague of mine had run into the fire. He fell at my feet, pleading to be saved. His whole body was burned. I stood there like a stone. Someone pulled me away, and we were taken out," she recalled.

The aircraft involved was an F-7BGI, an advanced model of China’s J-7 fighter jet, which had been on a training flight and took off from the air force base, just about 11 kilometres away.

A desperate search for the loved ones

The emotional and psychological impact of the crash has deeply scarred students and their families, many of whom witnessed the unthinkable.

Farhan Hasan, a student who had just stepped out of an exam room, said he saw the jet hit the school with his own eyes.

“The plane hit the school building right before my eyes,” he told BBC Bangla. “My best friend, the one I was in the exam hall with, he died right in front of my eyes.”

At the crash site, panic quickly turned into desperation. Families scrambled for news about their children, and chaos unfolded both on the ground and at nearby hospitals.

Jewel, a father who goes by one name, was among those waiting in agony to find out whether his daughter had survived.

“The plane crashed on the building where my daughter was. My wife called me, but I was praying so I could not pick up,” he told the AP. “When I came here I saw there was a huge fire. There was a dead body of a child.”

Fortunately, his daughter made it out alive. But many others were not as lucky. “I saw many other children suffering from burns,” he said.

Outside the school and at nearby medical centres, panic unfolded. Ambulances, rickshaws, and even the arms of firefighters and parents were used to carry the injured.

Several victims were rushed to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), while others were transported via Air Force helicopters and emergency vans, local media reported.

Rescue operations saw the army, air force, police, and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) jointly carrying out rescue and relief efforts, according to the Dhaka Tribune.

Bangladesh’s interim Prime Minister, Muhammad Yunus, expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy and pledged a full investigation. He announced on social media that an emergency hotline had also been set up at the school to assist families.

PM Narendra Modi also expressed solidarity with Bangladesh in a statement, saying, “Our hearts go out to the bereaved families. India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance.”

Twenty bodies have been handed over to their families. Some of the charred bodies were beyond recognition, and they might need DNA tests for matching, reports AP.

A blood donation camp has been opened at a specialised burn hospital where most of the injured were being treated.

Experts point to the Chinese jet’s poor track record

Authorities say the fatal crash that turned a school campus into a site of devastation was caused by a technical failure.  According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate, the Bangladesh Air Force FT-7 BGI fighter jet developed a “technical malfunction” shortly after it took off.

The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Md Towkir Islam Sagar, tried to steer the jet away from the densely populated neighbourhood of Uttara. But despite his efforts, the aircraft ended up crashing into a two-storey school building, killing himself and many others on the ground.

The ISPR also confirmed that a high-level investigation committee has been formed by the Air Force to determine what exactly went wrong.

However, aviation experts are already pointing towards the aircraft’s troubling history. A former Bangladesh Air Force officer told Dhaka Tribune on condition of anonymity that the Chinese origin of the plane may be linked to the crash.

“Chinese aircraft are one of the main reasons behind these repeated crashes, yet the Air Force continues to use them due to various constraints,” the retired officer said.

Military data cited by the same report reveal that out of 11 crashes over the past two decades, seven involved China-manufactured aircraft. The remaining four were linked to three Russian-made jets and one Czech-made.

The aircraft involved, the F-7 BGI, is a Chinese-made light, multi-role fighter jet developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation.

Designed to perform a wide range of missions, from air-to-air combat and aerial bombing to reconnaissance and defence suppression, this model was regarded as an upgrade when Bangladesh purchased 36 of them in 2022, customised to meet military requirements.

Others say that poor urban planning and violations of safety regulations may have contributed to the disaster. The area where the plane crashed used to be clear land, but unchecked development has transformed it into a densely populated area.

Referring to the incident, a retired air official told Dhaka Tribune, “Towkir (Pilot)… was approaching for landing, and the crash site was near his middle marker line… This area should have been cleared, but urban development took place on what used to be an empty canal.”

He added that basic flight safety protocols were not being followed. “Regardless of the location, at least an eight-nautical-mile obstacle-free fly zone is required for safe landings. But we are not following these rules. Even our approach lines are obstructed by numerous obstacles,” he said.

On Tuesday, a national day of mourning is being observed across Bangladesh with flags flown at half-mast in all government offices, semi-government bodies, autonomous institutions, and educational campuses.

With input from agencies