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At least 19 people have died and 164 were injured after a Bangladeshi air force training jet crashed into a school campus in the capital, Dhaka.
Footage from Milestone School and College in the northern suburb of Uttara shows a huge fire and thick smoke after the aircraft slammed into a two-story building.
The armed forces said in a statement on Facebook that the F-7 jet experienced a mechanical fault after taking off for a training exercise just after 13:00 local time.
The pilot was among those killed, the air force added.
More than 50 people, including children and adults, were taken to the hospital with burns, a doctor at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery said.
The age range for students attending the school is between four and 18 years old.
A teacher at the college, Rezaul Islam, told BBC Bangla that he saw the plane “directly” hit the building.
Another teacher, Masud Tarik, told Reuters that he heard an explosion: “When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke… There were many guardians and kids here.”
The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Md. Taukir Islam, had tried to navigate the jet to a less populated area after the mechanical fault occurred, the armed forces statement said. He had only just taken off from an air force base in the capital.
The injured have been transferred to nearby hospitals, while emergency teams are continuing rescue operations at the scene. An investigation committee has been formed to look into the incident, the statement added.
