On the third floor of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, Yasmin Akter clutched her son tightly, her face drawn with grief. Her daughter, Nure Jannat Usha, a fifth-grade student at Milestone, was severely burnt in the Bangladesh Air Force aircraft crash at Milestone School and College.
“My daughter’s whole body is burnt. Someone, please stop her pain. I can’t bear to see her suffer anymore,” Yasmin sobbed as she stood helplessly outside her daughter’s hospital room.
The air at the institute was thick with sorrow on Monday as victims of the Air Force plane crash were rushed in, their lives forever altered.
The aircraft crashed into the Milestone School and College campus at Diabari, Uttara, killing at least 19 and injuring more than a 100, mostly students.
The cries of relatives filled the corridors, as parents desperately searched for their children, identifiable only by their clothes. Some parents wept uncontrollably, others screamed in disbelief, while some stood in stunned silence, unable to process the nightmare unfolding before them.
Nearby, Tahmin Islam Rohan, Usha’s brother, spoke through his tears. “I went to pick her up like I do every day, but when I arrived, I saw the plane had crashed into the school. I found her inside, burned, and she was rushed to the hospital.” His voice broke as he recalled the agony of that moment.
Samin, a seventh-grade student, was also among the injured. His brother, holding back tears, shared: “Samin is in critical condition, in the ICU. The doctors said there’s only a 50 percent chance of survival.” His sobbing echoed through the ward.
Throughout the hospital, the scene was eerily similar. Relatives searched each floor, hoping for news of their loved ones.
Fahad Nion, holding the burned clothes of his niece Meherin, a fourth-grade student, cried in disbelief. “She’s so innocent,” he said, unable to stop the tears. “Her hands and face are all burnt. She used to study all day, and now this.”
The tragedy happened close to home for Fahad, who lives in the Diabari area. He described the frantic search for Meherin, who was eventually found and rushed to the burn unit. “I searched for hours but couldn’t find her. Then a teacher called and informed us that she had been taken to the burn unit.”
The devastation was felt across all the hospitals where the injured students were being treated: The pain, the fear, and the helplessness were palpable in every corner, as the plane crashed irrevocably changed the lives of many young students and their families.