At least 16 people most of them students lost their lives on Monday after a Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into a school compound in Dhaka, marking the country's worst aviation disaster in decades.

The F-7 BJI aircraft, manufactured in China, went down shortly after taking off at 1:06 pm local time, slamming into the junior playground of Milestone School and College.

The crash triggered a massive explosion, sending shockwaves through the area and injuring more than 100 people. Officials confirmed that at least 83 victims are currently receiving medical care in hospitals across the capital.

A student at the school, 18-year-old Shafiur Rahman Shafi, said the impact felt like an earthquake. “We were in the senior playground when one of the jets suddenly crashed into the junior side. There was a loud bang it shook the ground. Then flames broke out before the army arrived,” he told AFP.

Firefighters and emergency responders rushed to the scene, with military personnel assisting in rescue and cleanup efforts. An AFP photographer at the site captured scenes of victims being carried away on stretchers as first responders combed through the wreckage.

In response to the tragedy, interim leader Muhammad Yunus declared Tuesday a National Day of Mourning and expressed deep sorrow for the loss. “This is a moment of profound grief for our nation,” Yunus said in a statement posted on X, adding that the impact on students, parents, teachers, and the Air Force was “irreparable.”

Distraught families gathered at the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka, attempting to identify victims through school uniforms and personal items, according to local reports.

The crash is the deadliest aviation accident in Bangladesh since 1984, when a domestic flight from Chattogram to Dhaka went down, killing all 49 people on board.