Jet crash tragedy sends shockwaves beyond school compound in Bangladesh
'Suddenly the warplane crashed with a big boom and simultaneously a small burning chunk of the plane hit Samiul on his back," said his father Rezaul Karim, a garment exporter, on Wednesday.
The father rushed towards him screaming 'help, help" when a military soldier nearby opened his shirt to wrap the boy and douse the fire. 'My boy was trembling as I grabbed him by my chest," Karim, tears still flowing, said.
Karim is not alone in describing the grief caused due to the loss of a child. Monday's crash continues to send shock waves as unrelenting stories of agonies of the children and their parents and siblings flooded news outlets and social media platforms.
A F-7 BGI aircraft, a training fighter jet manufactured in China, experienced a 'mechanical fault" moments after takeoff and crashed into a two-storey building of the Milestone school on Monday killing 32 people, including 26 children.
As scores of people passed agonising hours with pains due to burn wounds at different hospitals, many of them in critical condition, parents of young children broke down narrating memories after burying their dear ones.
A video clip on social media showed a boy running helter-skelter in bare feet with his burnt-out school dress. He could be clearly seen screaming but the video did not grab his voice.
In another video, a boy accompanied by two fellow students, was seen hastily crossing a road to enter a hospital in Uttara signaling the moving vehicles to halt with one of his burnt hands.
A Bangla daily described how a surviving student said that after coming out of the building amid smoke and dust, he went back to the crash site to one of the classrooms to see the condition of his friends, defying advice of volunteers.
He found his best friend with fatal wounds. 'My friend told me, 'I knew you will come' – just before he breathed his last," the student told the daily.
The daily Star newspaper said, fourth-grader Raisa's body was found at Dhaka's Combined Military Hospital (CMH), a day after the incident. Her parents, who were running from pillar to post till then, had recovered only her charred school bag and books from the crash site rubble.
Another underage boy Ayan from Uttara area, lying in the ICU at another hospital, repeatedly cried urging his parents to take him away. 'I don't want to stay here anymore," his father told PTI on phone quoting his son.
'Ma (mother), I'm going to school. Ta-ta!" said nine-year-old Sayma to her mother before leaving her Gazipur home on Monday morning. After a massive search from hospital to hospital, the mother found her daughter at the CMH morgue in the evening.
Yet another child who died in the crash was a class III student Nusrat Jahan Anika, youngest of three siblings. A video on social media showed her father Abul Hossain saying: 'My daughter was fun loving, always laughing and smiling. She liked to wear new dresses, liked to visit eateries to taste good food and travel to newer places. We recently toured Cox's Bazar sea beach at her insistence." Meanwhile, an air force helicopter brought Samiul Karim to Dhaka's CMH. But he did not survive the injuries. Back home, neighbours and relatives said his mother Reshma Karim continued to faint after regaining consciousness for a brief period after her younger son's death.
'My son for whatever reason did not want to go to school that day, but I convinced him not to miss his classes… how can I forgive myself?" she said.
Milestone School and College's vice principal Salma Rouf said, the bell that rang at the school to announce the end of class hours for the day virtually turned out to be a signal for the students' eternal leave. PTI AR NPK NPK
view comments
First Published:
July 23, 2025, 20:30 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
4 hours ago
- NDTV
"Also My Children": Teacher Dies Saving Students In Bangladesh Jet Crash
Dhaka: When a Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet crashed into her school and erupted in a fireball on Monday, Maherin Chowdhury rushed to save some of the hundreds of students and teachers facing mortal danger, placing their safety before her own. The 46-year-old English teacher went back again and again into a burning classroom to rescue her students, even as her own clothes were engulfed in flames, her brother, Munaf Mojib Chowdhury, told Reuters by telephone. Maherin died on Monday after suffering near total burns on her body. She is survived by her husband and two teenaged sons. "When her husband called her, pleading with her to leave the scene and think of her children, she refused, saying 'they are also my children, they are burning. How can I leave them?'" Chowdhury said. At least 29 people, most of them children, were killed when the F-7 BGI crashed into the school, trapping them in fire and debris. The military said the aircraft had suffered mechanical failure. "I don't know exactly how many she saved, but it may have been at least 20. She pulled them out with her own hands," he said, adding that he found out about his sister's act of bravery when he visited the hospital and met students she had rescued. The jet had taken off from a nearby air base on a routine training mission, the military said. After experiencing mechanical failure the pilot tried to divert the aircraft away from populated areas, but it crashed into the campus. The pilot was among those killed. "When the plane crashed and fire broke out, everyone was running to save their lives, she ran to save others," Khadija Akter, the headmistress of the school's primary section, told Reuters on phone about Maherin. She was buried on Tuesday in her home district of Nilphamari, in northern Bangladesh.
News18
5 hours ago
- News18
UK engineering team departs after F-35B jet resumes service
Agency: Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 23 (PTI) A 17-member UK engineering team, deployed here since July 6 to carry out repairs and safety checks on the F-35B fighter jet, returned on Wednesday night, a day after the aircraft resumed active service. A source said the UK Air Force personnel had returned after expressing gratitude to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport for providing full assistance — from the emergency landing of the British F-35B aircraft to its departure once the issues were resolved. A UK Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant personally visited and thanked the airport authorities. He also presented a memento from the Royal Air Force, the source said. The 17-member team departed at around 9.30 pm in a Royal Air Force A400 aircraft, the source added. The British F-35B fighter jet flew back on Tuesday after completing maintenance — more than a month after it made an emergency landing at the international airport here and remained parked since. The jet, which took off at 10.50 am on Tuesday, flew to Darwin, Australia. PTI TGB ROH Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
5 hours ago
- News18
Chandrasekhar Azads pistol BamtooL Bukhara displayed in Allahabad Museum
Last Updated: Prayagraj, Jul 23 (PTI) On the 119th birth anniversary of legendary freedom fighter Chandrasekhar Azad, his pistol — Bamtul Bukhara — was displayed for the public at the Allahabad Museum on Wednesday. Allahabad Museum Director Dr. Rajesh Mishra said that the original pistol was exhibited for the public after nearly 22 months. Due to the lack of proper security arrangements, a replica of the pistol is usually placed in the 'Azad Gallery' of the museum. 'The original pistol requires Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) protection. A request has already been sent to the Ministry in this regard," Mishra said, adding that the pistol is currently kept in a secure location within the museum. Floral tributes were also offered at the statue of Chandrasekhar Azad as part of the observance. On the occasion, historian Professor Yogeshwar Tiwari highlighted Azad's significant role in India's freedom struggle. PTI RAJ KIS NB NB Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
