Aggrieved nation left with questions as citizens rally to help at burn institute
Some families are still in the dark about what happened to their children
Nasir Uddin, an elderly man appearing to be over 70 years old, arrived alone at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (NIBPS) on Tuesday morning — defying his family's instructions — to donate blood for the children injured and burned after a Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI training jet crashed into Milestone School and College's Diabari campus on Monday, killing 31 so far, along with the pilot.
The tragedy has shaken the nation to its core, with videos and images of the charred bodies of children being rescued from the wreckage going viral on social media. The videos also show students running for help and the sheer horror of parents who had sent their children to school in the capital, not to a combat zone.
In densely populated areas of the world, where there is only a single runway handling numerous domestic and international flights, you don't see air force bases nearby. I've landed at many airports in Europe, such as Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, and Brussels, but never saw a fighter jet.
Dozens of victims ended up at NIBPS. Doctors have called for donors with negative blood types since Tuesday morning, and as a result, dozens gathered at the hospital to register their names to donate; among them, the elderly Nasir Uddin.
Despite needing physical assistance to move, Nasir Uddin made the difficult journey alone, quietly slipping out of his home in defiance of his family's wishes.
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"When I saw the children suffering, I couldn't hold myself back. Please take my blood. I have come from a long distance with great hardship. This is the least I can do," Nasir Uddin told the volunteers registering potential donors.
From relatives of the injured to blood donors — including dozens of members of the Hijra community, journalists, security officials, and volunteers — the hospital area was crowded with many people on a cloudy and humid morning.
Alamin came to the hospital to support his friend, whose niece, a fourth grader at Milestone School, is suffering severe burn injuries when the aircraft crashed into their school building. The child's hands and feet were badly injured and are now in plaster. While her condition is serious, doctors said she has a good chance of survival.
Alamin stood outside the hospital, unable to enter due to the crowd and tight security, but remained ready to assist.
"They are not letting us enter the hospital because of the huge crowd and the situation inside. I'm here, waiting and ready in case my friend needs anything for his niece," Alamin said.
"When I saw the footage yesterday, it was heartbreaking. I couldn't believe my eyes. I was especially terrified when I learnt my friend's niece was there. We were all scared until we heard she had survived," he added.
Jhinu, a member of the Hijra community, with dozens of others from the community, gathered at the hospital to donate blood for the victims.
"We are all here today, and our names and numbers have been registered. Many of us have negative blood types, so we are ready to donate. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to help these children," Jhinu said.
Furthermore, there are still reports of families who are in the dark about what happened to their children, who have been unable to locate their children's bodies. In a press briefing this morning, hospital authorities told the media that among the 27 dead, five bodies remain unidentified.
At Dhaka Medical College Hospital's (DMCH) emergency morgue, one body from the Milestone tragedy was registered, said a morgue official named Arif. Another official, Jahid, said that between morning and noon on Tuesday, several people came searching for Milestone victims.
"Around two or three people have come looking for Milestone victims here so far today," Jahid said.
As the nation mourned the Milestone tragedy on Tuesday, hundreds of students across the capital protested against the government's handling of the crisis so far.
Moshiur Rahman, a student of Milestone School, was among those who marched from the Atomic Energy Commission office towards the Secretariat.
"They haven't released the full list of victims," Moshiur said. "These are our brothers and friends. Instead, the military attacked us and our teachers when we tried to inform the media, and the number of deaths is higher than what is being reported."
He rejected the official death toll of 31 and claimed the true number was much higher; however, these claims could not be verified.
One of the protesters, Imtiaz Aronno, an HSC examinee, criticised the Education Advisor for his handling of the HSC exams, especially after a scheduled exam was abruptly cancelled at midnight following the tragedy. Imtiaz and others felt it was inhumane to hold the exam while many students were grieving the loss of classmates and relatives.
"How realistic is it to hurt our feelings by insisting on holding the exam and only announcing the cancellation at midnight? We demand the resignation of this Education Advisor," Imtiaz told The Business Standard.
There is also outrage over the government's handling of the crisis. Many aggrieved citizens question why an air force base is located in a densely populated city like Dhaka, and they challenge the rationale for conducting air force training within the city.
"It has long been overdue to call for shifting military flights, which are inherently risky, away from such a densely populated city. Should we not consider an alternative location for the airbase?" Mofizur Rahman, Novoair Managing Director and General Secretary of the Aviation Operators Association of Bangladesh, who retired from the Air Force as a group captain, wrote on LinkedIn.
Abdullah Faruque, a former Biman captain, said, "In densely populated areas of the world, where there is only a single runway handling numerous domestic and international flights, you don't see air force bases nearby.
"I've landed at many airports in Europe, such as Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, and Brussels, but never saw a fighter jet," he posted on Facebook.
The sentiment is shared by ordinary people across the city.
"I even check my rickshaw before I head out for the day. That pilot tried; he even died. There must be an issue with the plane," said Tajul Islam, a rickshaw puller near DMCH, clearly disturbed by the tragedy.
"Someone must answer for these deaths," he added.
Delwar Hossain is a teacher at Milestone College. He had a class in the building where the F-7 crashed at that very moment; however, fortunately for him, he was struck by a severe fever just an hour earlier and took an early leave.
"I would definitely have been a victim if not for this fever," he said. "However, I returned after the news reached me, and it was the most horrific scene I can imagine — especially involving students. No one deserves to die like this — not our children!"
