A Bangladeshi cardinal has expressed sorrow over the deaths of at least 31 people who were killed after an air force training jet crashed into a school in Dhaka, the capital of the South Asia nation. Source: Crux.
“It is with great sorrow that I learned of the devastating air crash, which ploughed into a school building in Dhaka,” Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario said.
At least 164 people were injured in the crash after the aircraft hit a two-story building on the Milestone School and College campus.
Bengali-language daily newspaper Prothom Alo said most of the injured were students.
Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, said “necessary measures” would be taken to investigate the cause of the incident and “ensure all kinds of assistance.”
“This is a moment of deep sorrow for the nation. I wish the injured a speedy recovery and instruct all authorities, including the hospitals concerned, to deal with the situation with utmost importance,” he wrote in a post on X
The Chinese-made F-7 BGI training aircraft experienced a “technical malfunction” moments after takeoff at 1:06 p.m. local time, and the pilot attempted to divert the plane to a less populated area before crashing into the campus, according to a statement from the military.
Government officials have not released details about those who have died or are injured.
Cardinal D’Rozario, who was Archbishop of Dhaka from 2011 to 2020, is in Rome. He said he was “deeply saddened when I received the news, the tragic loss of lives, mostly students and children.”
“I offer my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and offer my prayerful solidarity in their moment of pain and loss. I pray for all of the victims of the tragedy as well as their families and loved ones. Our prayers are with them in this hour of immense grief and loss,” he said.
FULL STORY
Cardinal ‘deeply saddened’ by deadly military plane crash in Bangladesh (By Nirmala Carvalho, Crux)
Death toll rises to 31 in Bangladesh air force crash (Canberra Times)
