At least 19 people have been killed and more than 50 injured after a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) aircraft crashed into a school campus in Dhaka, media outlets reported on Monday.

The F-7 BGI training jet crashed on Monday at around 1:06pm local time, shortly after taking off, according to a report by the Inter Services Public Relation Directorate (ISPR), the public relations division of the Bangladesh armed forces. 

The F-7 is a multirole fighter jet produced by China's Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, with a design based on the Soviet-era MiG-21. It is primarily used by Bangladesh for training fighter pilots. 

The plane burst into flames upon crashing and a plume of thick smoke could be seen from a distance, the BDnews24 website reported, citing ISPR. Eight fire service units rushed to the scene to put out the flames, the report added. 

Shah Bulbul, a spokesman for Milestone School and College, was cited by BDnews24 as saying the plane crashed near the school gate, with classes in session nearby and students inside. He added that the injured were being evacuated one at a time.

Rescue workers have recovered 19 bodies from the rubble, while more than 50 of the injured have been sent to hospitals, according to the website. 

Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim government in Bangladesh, expressed his “deep sorrow and grief over the tragic accident” in a statement posted on X. 

The identities of the victims have not been confirmed, and no information has been released about the pilot by the ISPR, local media reports said.

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