Students Protest in Bangladesh After Air Force Jet Crash Kills 31

Police used tear gas to disperse angry students in Bangladesh on July 22 who demanded answers from the interim government after an air force fighter jet crashed into a Dhaka school and killed 31 people, at least 25 of them children.

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DHAKA -

The children, many aged under 12, were about to return home from class on July 21 when the Chinese-manufactured F-7 BGI Bangladesh Air Force jet ploughed into their school and burst into flames, trapping pupils in the fire and debris.

The military said the aircraft had suffered a mechanical failure.

Students from the school and others from nearby colleges protested as two government officials visited the crash site. They demanded an accurate death toll, shouting: "Why did our brothers die? We demand answers!"

Elsewhere in the capital, hundreds of protesting students, some of them waving sticks, broke through the main gate of the federal government secretariat, demanding the resignation of the education adviser, local TV footage showed.

Police with batons charged at them, fired tear gas and used sound grenades to disperse the crowd, leaving dozens injured, witnesses said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Talebur Rahman said they had to use tear gas to disperse the protesters.

He said he did not have information on the number of injured.

Rescue workers continued to scour charred buildings on July 22 as distressed residents of the area looked on.