Hundreds of students gathered outside the charred ruins of Milestone School and College in Dhaka on Tuesday, demanding answers following a tragic plane crash that claimed dozens of lives, most of them children.
What began as a normal school afternoon turned into chaos on Monday when a Bangladesh Air Force jet malfunctioned mid-flight and crashed directly into the school building. The impact ignited the two-story campus in flames and thick smoke.
Students had just wrapped up their classes, and many parents were waiting outside to collect their children when disaster struck. At least 31 people, including 25 children, were killed—marking it as the deadliest aviation-related tragedy in recent memory for the country. According to ISPR, around 165 others were injured, many suffering from critical burns.
The overwhelming number of child casualties has intensified national grief across Bangladesh, a country of over 170 million people. As military and police officials worked through the debris on Tuesday, frustrated students began confronting authorities, some expressing concerns that the actual death toll might be higher than reported.
Officials have denied claims of withholding information. According to state media BSS News, the Chief Adviser’s office stated that the identities of all victims are still in the process of being confirmed.
Eyewitnesses at the crash site were still visibly traumatized. Mohammad Imran Hussein, an English lecturer at the school, described the moment the jet hit. He was in a nearby building and heard a deafening noise. When he looked outside, he saw the tail section of the jet and a huge burst of flames.
“There were scattered body parts—children, parents. I don’t have the words,” said Hussein, visibly shaken.
