At least 25 children were among the 27 dead pulled from scorched buildings after a Bangladesh Air Force jet on a training mission crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials said on Tuesday, with 88 people being treated in hospital.

On Monday, a doctor from the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery told reporters that more than 50 people, including children and adults, were hospitalised with burn injuries. Some of them in critical conditions. 

The crash took place at Milestone School and College in the Uttara area of northern Dhaka. According to the military’s public relations office, the F-7 BGI training aircraft belonging to the Bangladesh Air Force took off at 13:06 (0706 GMT) before crashing.

Footage from the scene showed a large blaze on a lawn and thick smoke rising into the sky as bystanders looked on. Fire crews were seen dousing the twisted wreckage of the aircraft, which had struck a building, tearing through iron grills and leaving a large hole in the structure, according to visuals from Reuters TV.

Dr Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said a third-grade student had died and three others- aged 12, 14, and 40 had been admitted with injuries.

Scenes from the site showed distressed people shouting and crying, while others tried to console them.

Visuals showed rescue workers scouring the charred buildings for debris as distressed family members surrounded the site.

Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school, said, “When I went to the gate to collect my children, I suddenly heard an explosion from behind. I turned around and saw flames and smoke.”

Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh’s interim government, promised a full investigation into the crash and pledged all necessary support to those affected.

“The losses suffered by the Air Force, as well as by the students, parents, teachers, and staff, are beyond repair,” he said.

The government has announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship.

The crash follows another tragic aviation incident just over a month ago, when an Air India aircraft struck a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad, India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground- the deadliest plane crash in over a decade.

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Bangladesh News Air Force Plane Crash college campus