Fury erupted in Dhaka as thousands of students protested at the site of a Bangladesh Air Force jet crash that killed 31 people, including 25 children, in one of the nation’s deadliest aviation disasters. The Chinese-made F-7 BGI training jet crashed into Milestone School and College in Uttara on Monday due to a "mechanical fault" shortly after takeoff, sparking outrage over alleged cover-ups and outdated aircraft.
The death toll, reported by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), includes 16 deaths at the Combined Military Hospital, 10 at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, and others at various Dhaka hospitals. With 165 injured, many critically, students from Milestone and nearby schools demanded transparency in victim identification, compensation for families, and an immediate halt to using "outdated and unsafe" training jets.
Protests intensified when interim government officials, including Law Adviser Asif Nazrul and Education Adviser CR Abrar, visited the crash site. Students, chanting for justice, besieged a school building where the officials took shelter, accusing authorities of hiding the true casualty figures. The government, led by interim leader Muhammad Yunus, denied these claims, stating, "The claim that casualty figures are being concealed is not correct."
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The crash, caused by a technical malfunction moments after the jet’s 1:06 p.m. takeoff from A.K. Khandaker air force base, saw the pilot, Flight Lt. Mohammed Toukir Islam, attempt to steer away from densely populated areas. Despite his efforts, the jet slammed into the school, igniting a fire that gutted the two-story building. Twenty bodies have been released to families, some requiring DNA identification due to severe burns.
Bangladesh marked Tuesday as a national day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and a one-minute silence observed by the Supreme Court and lower judiciary. The F-7 BGI, the most advanced variant of China’s Chengdu J-7 series, was acquired by Bangladesh in 2013. A high-level military investigation is underway to determine the crash’s cause, amid calls to decommission aging aircraft.
The tragedy, the worst in Dhaka since a 1984 passenger jet crash killed 49, has fueled public anger. Students allege security forces beat protesters and manhandled teachers, while parents searched frantically for missing children overnight. A blood donation camp was set up at the burn hospital to aid the injured, many of whom remain in critical condition.
As Bangladesh grapples with this loss, the protests underscore deep distrust in authorities and a demand for accountability in a nation already reeling from political instability.
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