Bangladesh in mourning after many schoolchildren killed in military jet crash
Bangladesh observed a day of national mourning on Tuesday, a day after the Air Force F-7 BGI aircraft went down during class hours at Milestone School and College in the capital's Diabari area.
The jet struck the building, killing many of the children on the spot and causing fatal burn injuries to others, health authorities said, as at least 165 victims remained hospitalized.
'My niece, Fatema Akter, was a student of class three of that school. The school is actually five minutes walking from our home,' Leon Mir, a TV reporter who witnessed the crash that killed his sister's eldest daughter, told Arab News.
'I saw a huge smoke and the roads were blocked after the plane crashed on the school. Immediately, I rushed to the school ... somehow, I managed to enter. Seeing the situation on the ground, I was lost.'
As he reached the site, he could not see Akter and started to search for her at emergency units of local hospitals. He eventually found her at the Combined Military Hospital in another part of the city.
'She died on the spot, and her body was transported to the CMH by helicopter. I first found her school ID card and later on recognized her face,' Mir said.
Bangladeshi authorities have mobilized burn specialists and pediatricians from across the country to treat patients injured in the Dhaka disaster.
Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the government on health, told reporters that 30 patients admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka remain in serious condition, and at least 10 are critical. Most are students.
Rahman said that among the 31 people killed in the crash were the pilot and two teachers. One of them, Maherin Chowdhury, sustained 100 percent burns while rescuing at least 20 students from the burning primary school building.
As bereaved families began to bury their children, at least five of them were from the families of Mir's neighbors.
'This morning, another one died at the hospital,' he said.
'Since the accident, I haven't been able to look at my sister's face ... it's unimaginable — you send your child to school in the morning and receive their burnt body in the afternoon.'
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