Staff Correspondent:

Following a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) training aircraft crash into a building inside the Milestone College campus at Diabari in the capital’s Uttara on Monday afternoon (July 21), ambulances are arriving every few minutes at the emergency unit of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (NIBPS) in Dhaka, as crowds of anxious parents gather in front of the facility.

According to our reporter at the scene, more than 70 injured individuals — most of them school students — have been brought to the burn institute so far.

The victims, many in critical condition, are being rushed in from the scene of a devastating explosion.

“My son’s whole body is burned,” cried Akhi, mother of 11-year-old Arian, a Class Four student at the school.

“He had been sick for a few days and I hadn’t let him go to school. But today, he went. His hair is also burned off,” she said.

Nasima, another grieving mother, pleaded through tears, “Oh Allah, please save my precious child.” Her 15-year-old son Nabil is a Class Seven student of the school.

“After school, the children were playing in the field when the blast occurred,” she said. “He was first taken to Bangladesh Medical College Hospital. I got to see him just once, his entire body was burned.”

Afif Hossain, another Class Seven student, suffered severe burns to his face and back.

Afif’s maternal uncle said, “His face and entire back are burned, but he is still able to talk.”

He added that Afif was first taken to Bangladesh Medical College Hospital before being transferred to the national burn institute.

Victims of the plane crash are being transported by ambulance to several hospitals in the capital, including the NIBPS, Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s Burn Unit, Bangladesh Medical College Hospital, and emergency departments in hospitals across Uttara.

Dr Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to chief adviser for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has arrived at the burn institute.

Earlier this noon, a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) training aircraft (F-7 BGI), which took off at 1:06pm on Monday (July 21 ), crashed into a building inside the Milestone College campus at Diabari in the capital’s Uttara and caught fire following an explosion — leading to multiple casualties.