‘Ready to extend support’: PM Modi expresses solidarity with Bangladesh after 20 die in Dhaka jet crash

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (July 21) expressed solidarity with the neighbouring country of Bangladesh following a tragic Air Force training jet crash in Dhaka’s Diabari area earlier in the day. Taking to X, PM Modi said India stood strong with the people of Bangladesh and was ready to extend support and assistance in the rescue operation.

“Deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of lives, many of them young students, in a tragic air crash in Dhaka. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families. We pray for the swift recovery of those injured. India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance,” PM Modi said in the X post.

Earlier in the day, a training aircraft belonging to the Bangladesh Air Force crashed onto a school campus in the country’s capital, killing at least 20 people. More than 170 others sustained injuries in the incident.

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Most of those injured are schoolchildren and around 70 of the injured were undergoing treatment in hospitals for burns, Sayedur Rahman, a Special Assistant to the interim ruler Muhammed Yunus, previously told BBC Bangla.

The fighter jet involved in the crash was an F-7 BGI, which the country purchased from China. As per the official document, each F-7 jet costs $5.85 million.

The jet took off from the Bangladesh Air Force base in Kurmitola, Dhaka, as part of a routine training mission and soon encountered a technical problem.

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Military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury said that the pilot made his best efforts to divert the plane away from densely-populated areas.

“The pilot made a valiant attempt to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas. Despite his best efforts, the aircraft crashed into a two-storey building belonging to Milestone School and College,” he stated.

The pilot also lost his life in the crash.

The authorities noted that children were present inside the school at the time of the crash, leading to a high number of casualties. Fire and rescuers from the military arrived at the scene soon after the crash.