- Training jet 'encountered a mechanical fault' after taking off from AK Khandaker airbase in Dhaka's Kurmitola area, says army

DHAKA, Bangladesh 

A Bangladesh Air Force training jet on Monday crashed into a college campus in the capital Dhaka, killing at least 20 people, including the students and pilot, said the army's media wing.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that 171 others were injured in the incident, and the majority suffered burn injuries

The majority of the victims are college students and staff, and the pilot, Mohammad Towkir Islam Sagar, the sole occupant of the Chinese-manufactured FT-7 BGI fighter jet, was also killed.

The interim government has announced a state of mourning on Tuesday in the wake of the deadly crash.

According to the ISPR, the Air Force aircraft "encountered a mechanical fault" after taking off from the AK Khandaker airbase in Dhaka's Kurmitola area.

It added that the Air Force has formed a high-level committee to conduct investigations into the incident.

The pilot "tried to take the aircraft away" from the densely populated area, but it crashed into a two-story building of Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Diabari neighborhood, the ISPR said.

The aircraft hit the building of the Milestone School and College in the Uttara neighborhood, with footage showing huge smoke and fire erupting from the site.

Md Selim Ahmed, a teacher at the college, told Anadolu that the educational institution has more than 2,000 students.

However, Ahmed was unaware of the number of casualties from inside the college.

The Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media department, said the plane took off at 1.06 pm local time (0706GMT).

This is Bangladesh's deadliest air crash, following an incident in 2018 in which two Bangladesh Air Force pilots were killed when a trainer aircraft crashed in the southwestern Jessore district.