Bangladesh mourns after deadly fighter jet crash into Dhaka school. Image: SABC NEWS.
(The Post News)– In Bangladesh, the mood shifted from mourning to outrage as the death toll from a fighter jet crash into a Dhaka school rose to 31, prompting hundreds of students to protest against the interim government amid the country’s ongoing instability.
Students from the affected school and nearby institutions staged protests, demanding justice and answers as government officials visited the crash site. In another part of the capital, hundreds of students, some wielding sticks, stormed the federal government secretariat, calling for the education adviser’s resignation.
Police responded with baton charges, dispersing the protesters. Meanwhile, rescue teams continued to search through the wreckage, while distraught residents watched. Many parents were overcome with grief.
Abul Hossain, the father of 9-year-old Nusrat Jahan Anika, who died in the crash, said with tears, “I dropped her off at school yesterday morning, just like any other day. I never thought it would be the last time I’d see her.” Anika was laid to rest on Monday night.
Rubina Akter shared her son Raiyan Toufiq’s harrowing escape, saying his shirt caught fire on the staircase during the crash. “He ran downstairs and rolled on the grass to put out the flames,” she explained, adding that his quick thinking and torn clothing likely prevented severe burns.
According to the military, the jet took off from a nearby air base for a routine training exercise but suffered a mechanical failure, resulting in the pilot’s death. Despite attempts to steer the plane away from populated areas, it ultimately crashed into the school campus.
The military reported that the crash resulted in 31 fatalities and 165 hospitalizations. Later, the health ministry updated that 70 people remained under medical care. The government declared a national day of mourning, marked by flags flown at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship.
The protesting students called for those killed and injured to be named, for air force compensation to the families of those killed, for the decommissioning of what they said were old and risky jets, and for a changing of air force training procedures. A statement from the press office of Muhammad Yunus, the country’s interim administrator, said that the government, the military, and school and hospital authorities were working together to publish a list of victims.
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