Bangladesh seethes as toll from jet crash at school hits 31
DHAKA: Grief gave way to anger in Bangladesh on Tuesday, a day after a fighter jet crashed into a school, killing 31 people, mostly children, in the country's deadliest aviation accident in decades. The pupils had just been let out of class when the Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft slammed into the private Milestone School and College in Dhaka on Monday. At least 31 people have died, up from the military's earlier toll of 27.
More than 170 people were injured in the crash, with 69 of them still undergoing treatment at various hospitals. 'Ten patients are in very critical condition,' Sayedur Rahman, from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told reporters. At a protest on the school campus, students accused the government of lying about the death toll and demanded a list of those injured.
'There were hundreds of students in that academic building. We saw body parts strewn all over the ground. Where are they?' a 17-year-old student, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
'When students and teachers asked this question to the military personnel, they roughed us up,' he said. Some of the students carried placards that read: 'We want justice' and 'Where are the bodies of our brothers and sisters?' Students also stormed the national secretariat in Dhaka, prompting police to use batons and stun grenades, local media reported.
Press secretary Ahammed Foyez told AFP that the government had agreed to meet the student's demands. 'We believe the demands raised by the students are legitimate and should be fulfilled,' Foyez said. Teacher Shahadat Hossain, whose son narrowly escaped the crash, was devastated to see the school bereft of its usual buzz. 'Along with the children, the school has lost its life,' he said.
'There are two swings in front of the affected building. During lunch breaks and after school, children play there. Even yesterday, around the time the plane crashed, students were on those swings,' the 45-year-old told AFP. Around 7,000 pupils are enrolled at the school, including Abul Bashar's sixth-grade son whose best friend was killed.
'He came out just two or three minutes before the accident occurred,' said Bashar.
'He couldn't sleep through the night and forced me to bring him to school this morning,' the father added, while his son stood in silence. School authorities have retrieved bags, shoes and identity cards of children from the site. Air Force personnel said remnants of the fighter jet were removed on Monday night, but they were still scouring the site for evidence. 'I don't know how long it will take to return to normalcy, to relieve the children from this trauma,' teacher Hossain said.
On Monday night, school authorities held prayers at the campus. Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus expressed 'deep grief and sorrow' over the incident and declared a day of national mourning.
'The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,' he said. 'This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.'
The military said the pilot, 27-year-old flight lieutenant Towkir Islam, was on a routine training mission when the jet 'reportedly encountered a mechanical failure'. He tried to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas, but crashed into the two-storey school building. — AFP
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