Bangladesh's F-7 Fighter Jet Loses Fuel Tanks In Mid-Flight

Two external fuel tanks of a Bangladesh F-7 fighter jet dropped in a village during mid flight.

The fighter jet dropped near a road in Nilnagar of Nabinagar upazila in Brahmanbaria around 11:00am Tuesday, The Daily Star reported Wednesday.

The localites thronged the area to see the 14-15 feet long objects. Thinking that the objects might explode, they started panicking.

Probably the fuel tanks dropped from the fighter aircraft F-7 due to a technical glitch, Lt Col Rashidul Hasan, director of Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate, said.

On information, police recovered the tanks and took them to Nabinagar Police Station.

Chairman of Zinodpur Union Parishad Abdur Rouf said he visited the spot after the incident. People could have been fatally injured if the tanks dropped into any home, he said.

Officer-in-Charge of Nabinagar Police Station Aslam Sikder said the fuel tanks appeared to be empty.

The Bangladeshi Air Force, currently operates F-7MB Airguards, and F-7BG/Gs interceptors.

The Chengdu J-7 is a People's Republic of China license-built version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21.

12 F-7BG interceptors and 4 FT-7BG two-seater fighters delivered to Bangladesh in 2007. Additional 16 advanced F-7 BGI fighters delivered in 2012.