Dhaka, Jul 22: The death toll in the Bangladesh Air Force jet crash climbed to 27, twenty-five of the deceased being students, authorities announced on Tuesday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media division of the South Asia nation's Armed Forces, the Air Force's F-7 BGI training aircraft took off at 1:06 p.m. (local time) on Monday and crashed into the Milestone School and College building in Dhaka's Uttara around 1.30 p.m.

Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday morning, Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief advisor at the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka, confirmed the update on the casualties.

He further stated that at least 78 people are receiving treatment at different hospitals, and five are in critical condition.

"Among the deceased, 25 are children -- many under the age of 12 -- with extensive burn injuries. The other two victims include the aircraft's pilot and a female schoolteacher," the leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star, quoted Rahman as saying.

He added that the bodies of 20 people have been handed over to their relatives.

"We are continuing all possible efforts to provide medical care. However, the condition of some patients remains extremely critical," he added.

Rahman also stated that among the dead, six bodies have not been identified, while their DNA has been taken.

"Most of the injured are children. Their blood requirement is low. Besides, the ICU at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) is ready," Rahman further stated.

A total of 171 were injured following the tragic incident, the ISPR had said on Monday.

Members of the Bangladesh Army and eight engines of the Fire Service and Civil Defence rushed to the spot and started rescue operations as the jet crashed into the two-story school building of our Milestone School and College, according to a fire service notification on Monday.

"On the first floor of this two-story building, there were classes for third and fourth graders. On the second floor, there were classes for second and fifth graders," Brigadier General Mohammad Zahed Kamal, the Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence, was quoted as saying by the country's leading Bengali daily, Prothom Alo.

"There was a meeting room for the principal's office next to it. A coaching class was in progress," he added.

(IANS)

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