At least 19 people were killed and dozens more injured on Monday when a Chinese-made F-7 BGI fighter jet crashed into Milestone School and College in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, moments after students had been let out at 1:00 p.m.

According to a military statement, the dead included the pilot of the aircraft. The crash, which took place on the junior section’s playground, is being described as Bangladesh’s deadliest aviation accident in decades.

An AFP photographer on the scene reported chaotic scenes as fire and rescue officials rushed to save the injured, while military personnel helped clear the wreckage. Witnesses described the sound of the crash as deafening.

“We were on the playground for seniors. There were two fighter planes… Suddenly, one of them crashed into the junior playground,” said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, a student at the school. “It created a boom and felt like an earthquake. Then it caught fire. The army reached the spot later.”

At least 51 people, most of them students, were hospitalized at the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, where the director, Dr. Mohammad Nasir Uddin, confirmed the scale of injuries.

Grief overwhelmed families as they searched for missing loved ones. Tofazzal Hossain, 30, broke down in tears upon learning that his young cousin, an eighth grader at the school, had died.

“We frantically searched in different hospitals… Finally, we found his body,” he told AFP.

In response to the tragedy, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus declared Tuesday a day of national mourning. Expressing his condolences in a message on X, Yunus said, “The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable… This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.”

Monday’s crash marks the worst aviation disaster in Bangladesh since 1984, when a plane traveling from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 onboard. It also comes just weeks after a commercial aircraft crash in neighboring India claimed 260 lives.