Bangladesh plane crash: Teacher dies after rescuing 20 kids
Bangladesh's armed forces said that the F7 jet had experienced a mechanical fault after taking off for a training exercise just after 13:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Monday, and that the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Md. Taukir Islam, had tried to steer to a less crowded area. He was among those killed.The crash marks the deadliest aviation disaster the country has seen in decades.More than 160 people were injured, with an on-duty doctor at the Uttara Adhunik Medical College Hospital saying most were aged between 10 and 15 years old, many suffering from jet fuel burns. More than 50, including children and adults, were taken to hospital with burns, a doctor at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery said.Mr Helal told BBC Bangla that he first called his wife after hearing the news of the plane crash. When she didn't answer, he asked his eldest son to go to the school and find out what had happened.Soon after, he received a call from an ambulance driver telling him that his wife was being taken to the burns unit at Uttara Modern Medical Hospital. She would later be taken to the ICU.
Mr Helal said Chowdhury apologised to him from her hospital bed, shortly before being placed on ventilation. As he recalled their final moments together, he broke down in tears."She was still alive. She spoke the highest words with great mental strength. Because almost its hundred percent burn inner and outer," he said.Chowdhury worked at Milestone School and College for 17 years, having first joined as a teacher before being promoted to become a coordinator in the Bangla department for classes two to five.She was buried on Tuesday in her home district of Nilphamari, in northern Bangladesh, as flags flew at half mast across the country in a day of mourning for the victims.
Muhammad Yunus, the leader of Bangladesh's interim government, has said that an investigation committee has been formed to look into the incident.Across Dhaka on Tuesday, hundreds of protesting students took to the streets to demand an accurate death toll and the resignation of the education adviser – many of them breaking through the main gate of the federal government secretariat, according to local TV footage.Police fired tear gas and used sound grenades to disperse the crowd, leaving dozens of people injured, witnesses said.The protesters called for the crash victims to be named, as well as compensation for victims' families, the decommissioning of what they said were old and dangerous jets, and a change to air force training procedures.The Bangladesh air disaster comes just weeks after neighbouring India witnessed the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.An Air India passenger plane bound for London's Gatwick airport crashed shortly after taking off in Ahmedabad, western India, on 12 June, killing 260 people.The crash killed 242 people on board the flight and 19 others on the ground, with only one survivor from the plane.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
At least 1 dead & 2 missing after plane crashes into sea off California sparking major operation as debris washes ashore
A MAJOR search and rescue mission is underway after a plane crashed into the sea off the coast of California leaving at least one dead and two missing. Authorities have confirmed that a private plane plummeted into the water in Pacific Grove at around 10:40 pm on Saturday night. 4 4 4 The Beech 95-B55 was en route to Monterey Regional Airport from San Carlos Airport where it had departed around 10:07 pm, according to Flight Radar. It is believed to have ran into trouble shortly after take off with data from the Aviation Safety Network showing that it "crashed into the sea during a night-time approach to Monterey Airport." "On approach the aircraft entered a descending left-hand turn. During the turn the aircraft climbed again before entering a high-speed descent until it crashed into the sea about 22:38 hours," per the aviation outlet. Now, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Pacific Grove Police, the Coast Guard, and CAL Fire are engaged in the search for those who were onboard the two-engine aircraft. The Coast Guard has said that three people were on board the plane, per KSBW Action News. In an update, a reporter from KION News who is at the scene, said that the body of one person has been recovered as divers continue to search the area. "This is now a recovery mission," he told viewers as divers could be seen in the water. Responders received a lost radar alert as well a flurry of 911 calls from horrified locals who said they heard an engine revving or a loud noise before a huge splash in the ocean near Asilomar. On Facebook, one local said: "I'm dog sitting for my daughter in Pacific Grove. I'm laying in bed around 10PM and I hear a low flying airplane overhead. "I'm wondering to myself 'it sounds like it might hit her house'. Then I hear a sudden splat and it goes silent." Moment 150 terrified passengers flee plane engulfed in smoke after landing gear issue sparked fire and injured one Another told KION News that a loud noise woke him up and it "sounded like a plane doing stunts over my roof - I thought I was dreaming". Emergency officials believe the aircraft plummeted into the sea between 200 meters and a quarter of a mile off the coastline. As the recovery operation continues, debris from the horror crash has started washing ashore including luggage, seat cushions, and parts of the aircraft, a CAL FIRE spokesperson told the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard said that numerous lifeboats and a helicopter were deployed minutes after reports of the crash came in. It is not yet known what caused the crash but the National Transportation Safety Board will start to assess the debris for possible answers. The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Pacific Grove Police Department and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office for an update. The identities of those on board have not been released. Locals have shared on Facebook how the news reminded them of the plane crash that killed folk and country star John Denver. Denver died on October 12, 1997, at the age of 53 when his plane crashed into Monterey Bay.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Mother of Air India crash victim ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified
The mother of a British Air India crash victim has said her family is 'heartbroken' after receiving news the remains of her son were wrongly identified, The Sunday Times reported. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on June 12, killing 241 people on board. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Among the British victims were Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, 39, and his husband Jamie, 45, who had been returning to Britain after celebrating their wedding anniversary in India. Mr Greenlaw-Meek's mother, Amanda Donaghey, told The Sunday Times she flew to India after the crash in order to find her son's remains, providing a DNA sample at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital to assist the identification process. Following a match on June 20 last year, she returned to the UK with Mr Greenlaw-Meek's coffin. But on July 5, as Mr Greenlaw-Meek and his husband's families prepared to bury the married couple together, police told Ms Donaghey that DNA tests carried out in the UK showed Mr Greenlaw-Meek's remains were not in the coffin. 'We don't know what poor person is in that casket,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I had my doubts but to be told that was heartbreaking. 'This is an appalling thing to have happened,' she added. 'And we would now like the British Gvernment to do everything in its power to find out, and bring Fiongal home.' It was revealed last week the coffin of another repatriated British victim, 71-year-old Shobhana Patel, contained remains of multiple people, The Sunday Times reported. Mrs Patel was killed alongside her husband Ashok, 74, as they returned to the UK from a Hindu religious trip. Their son Miten Patel told The Sunday Times: 'There may have been a mistake done. 'But for religious reasons we need to make sure my mother is my mother and not somebody else's remains. 'Knowing 100% that it is my mum is very important to us.' Shobhana and Ashok Patel were laid to rest last week, The Sunday Times said. International aviation lawyer James Healey-Pratt, whose firm Keystone Law is representing families of victims of the Air India crash, has told Times Radio the identification issues have raised concerns over the total number of victims whose identities may have been misattributed. 'We know that 12 caskets were repatriated from India to the UK,' he said. 'Of those 12, two had been mishandled, misidentified. 'And so if you extrapolate that sample, you're looking at 40 mishandled remains out of 240. 'So that's a very large number, but we simply don't know. 'And to date, the Indian authorities have not been transparent or helpful about that, which is why there was pressure put on by the families to the FCO and the Prime Minister's office. 'And this was actually mentioned in the meeting at Chequers between Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Modi on Thursday. 'So the families are waiting to hear, first thing next week, about what actions are really being done in India to provide some degree of assurance.' It is understood no blame is being put on any UK agency for the blunders, Mr Healy-Pratt previously told the PA news agency. The only surviving passenger on the plane was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who previously told The Sun it was a 'miracle' he was alive but felt 'terrible' he could not save his brother Ajay. A preliminary report into the incident from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found both of the plane's fuel switches moved to the 'cut-off' position 'immediately' after take-off, stopping fuel supply to the engine. It has sparked questions over whether the crash was deliberate.
The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
Air India crash victim's mum horrified as authorities send wrong body back to the UK in a casket
A MUM whose son died in the Air India plane crash has been left horrified after authorities sent the wrong body back to the UK. Amanda Donaghey, 66, was left heartbroken and appalled after DNA evidence proved Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek's casket actually belonged to another victim. 5 5 Fiongal, 39, had been to India celebrating his wedding anniversary with husband, Jamie, 45. The pair were all set to fly home to Britain on the doomed Flight AI171 when disaster struck just a minute into the journey. Moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, the pilots lost altitude as the plane came crashing towards the ground. Footage captured the moment it smashed into a medical college hostel. A total of 241 passengers and crew plus 19 people on the ground were all killed in the tragedy - including 52 Brits like Fiongal and Jamie. Amanda initially believed the two men had caught a flight home two days earlier until she received an emotional phone call from the dad of Fiongal. A brave Amanda then flew out to India shortly after being told both men were on the plane when it crashed. She went to look for her son or, in the worse case scenario, bring his remains home. She told The Sunday Times: "Visiting the site and seeing it was something I felt like I had to do. I wanted to understand what had happened. "I remember all these burnt trees. The trees were scorched black. But there were still birds and squirrels in those trees, which I found quite profound. How pilots cutting engines sparked TWO plane disasters after South Korea & India crashes as calls for cockpit CCTV grow "It was like a bomb site. You would think it was from a war scene, but there were still these small birds twittering." Hours after the crash, it was confirmed that only one person had survived the accident. Despite the tragedy, Amanda remained determined to help find Fiongal's remains. She gave blood to help find a DNA match before being informed officials had found the body and sent it back to the UK. Jamie had already been identified by this point with both men's families hoping to lay them to rest next to each other. Amanda rushed back to the UK hoping to say her final goodbyes after being assured that Fiongal was in the casket. The family had started to plan Fiongal's funeral when they received a gut-wrenching phone call from the police. A British coroner had completed a second, more thorough DNA test on the remains which were inside the casket. Fiongal's tragic final video A HEARTBREAKING final video posted by Fiongal came just hours before their tragic death in the Air India crash. In the chilling final clip filmed at Ahmedabad airport, Fiongal and Jamie, dressed in floral shirts and visibly happy, reflect on their trip. Fiongal says: "We are at the airport just boarding. Goodbye India. Ten-hour flight back to England. What was your biggest takeaway Jamie?" Jamie responds: "I don't know," prompting Fiongal's laughter and a teasing, "Thanks for your contribution." Fiongal jokes that his main lesson was "don't lose your patience with your partner," to which Jamie smiles and replies, "You snapped at me at the airport for having chai." Passengers mill in the background as Fiongal adds: "I'm going back to Britain happily, happily calm." Earlier social media posts from the couple showed their experiences in Ahmedabad, including a seven-hour car journey to a stunning hotel. In one clip, Fiongal lies on a large bed beside a giant swing, describing the hotel as "beautiful" and saying he felt "very, very happy." Their time in India was captured in a series of posts showing henna tattoos, shopping for fabrics and gifts, and riding in a tuk-tuk through busy streets. On their final night, Fiongal reflected: "So, it's our last night in India and we've had a magical experience. Some mind-blowing things have happened. "We are going to put all this together and create a vlog. It's my first ever vlog about the whole trip and we want to share it." Jamie added: "We have been on quite a journey and then spending our last night here in this beautiful hotel, it's really been a great way to round off the trip." They did not belong to Fiongal. "It was heartbreaking," Amanda said. "We don't know what poor person is in that casket. This is an appalling thing to have happened." Amanda's experience is tragically just one of many parents struggling to find closure after the crash due to a mix up of many caskets. NHS microbiologist Shobhana Patel, 71, and her husband Ashok, 74, both died in the crash. The couple, from Orpington, Kent, were repatriated in different coffins but DNA tests in Britain found other body parts along with Shobhana's. One heartbroken family was even forced to cancel funeral plans due to the mix-up of bodies, the Mail Online reported. And in another harrowing mistake, "commingled" human remains - consisting of body parts of more than one victim - were reportedly packed into a casket before being shipped to the UK. It is thought that only Indian authorities carried out DNA tests on victims with no input from any international agency. India's Ministry of External Affairs said: 'All remains were handled with professionalism.' Brit families previously slammed the chaotic ground operation following the horror smash on June 12. One relative reportedly blasted the "lack of transparency and oversight in the identification and handling of remains". 5
