Monday, 25 May 2026
Students demanding accountability, compensation for victims' families and the halt of training flights, in Dhaka, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. AP PHOTO
Bangladesh grieves deadly jet crash as students call for justice
DHAKA — Hundreds of students gathered in protest near the crash site where a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a school in the capital, demanding accountability, compensation for victims’ families, and an immediate suspension of training flights, AP reported.
The death toll from the tragic incident climbed to 31 on Tuesday, including at least 25 students, a teacher who succumbed to burn injuries sustained while rescuing others, and the jet’s pilot.
Firefighters worked to further secure the area in Dhaka’s crowded Uttara neighborhood as the military began an official investigation. The country’s civil aviation authority was not directly participating in the inquiry.
Bangladesh observed a national day of mourning on Tuesday, with flags lowered to half-staff throughout the country.
The crash, which occurred Monday at Milestone School and College, sparked a blaze that gutted the two-story building. Officials reported that 171 individuals, mostly students suffering from burns, were rescued and transported by helicopter, ambulance, motorized rickshaw, and even the arms of firefighters and parents.
Students demonstrating at the site demanded full disclosure of the identities of those killed and injured, compensation for affected families, and a stop to the use of what they called “outdated and unsafe” air force training jets. They accused security forces of assaulting students and teachers during Monday’s chaos and chanted slogans decrying official responses.
Tensions flared as two top government advisers arrived, prompting the students to disperse for their own safety.
Elsewhere in Dhaka, hundreds more students marched toward government offices, insisting the education adviser step down for allegedly delaying the announcement of canceled public exams during the national day of mourning.
Seventy-eight people, mostly students, remained hospitalized as of Tuesday, according to Sayeedur Rahman, special assistant to interim leader Muhammad Yunus. Authorities said the initial death toll was 20, with seven more succumbing to injuries overnight, and four additional deaths confirmed later Monday by the military.
Maherin Chowdhury, a teacher hailed for saving more than 20 students from the burning building, died from severe burns, her colleague Tanzina Tanu confirmed.