Silence, sorrow replace school bells at Milestone after air force jet crash

The usual bustle was missing at Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Uttara today.

There were no students running across the playground, no morning assembly, no ringing bell, and no classroom chatter. The silence was stark, an echo of what had been lost.

Only a day earlier, the campus was full of life. Now, that life has been replaced by fear, grief, and disbelief.

Around 9:30am, a visit to the school found small groups of students and their guardians gathered quietly outside. Some stood frozen, eyes fixed on the damaged building where the unthinkable happened.

Photo: Ahmed Deepto

Among them was fourth-grader Md Abrar Jahin. He had come with his mother to see the school he narrowly escaped from.

"My friend Maheen died," Jahin told The Daily Star, eyes welling up.

"When the plane crashed, I felt like I was about to faint. I never imagined something like that could happen to my classroom. That building had our Bangla division classes -- grades three, four and five. The principal's office and teachers' room were next to it."

Photo: Ahmed Deepto

Jahin recalled being on the school field at the time.

"After eating tiffin from my mum, I was walking back toward the classroom. I had only taken a few steps when I saw the plane crash right into it. Eleven students were inside. Usually, there are 40. It was a coaching class, so fewer were present. Two of my friends survived."

His mother, Nargis Parvin, said her son was saved only by chance.

"Every day, coaching classes are held after regular lessons. He had just come out to eat. After washing his hands, we both saw the plane—on fire. I told him, 'Look, the plane is burning.' Within a minute, it crashed into their classroom."

"He lived because he had stepped out at that moment. Many didn't. Many were injured. It's heartbreaking," she added.

Throughout the morning, crowds gathered at the school gate; students, parents, teachers, staff, locals, and onlookers. Many were seen taking photos and recording videos on their phones.

By late morning, more than a thousand people had gathered on campus, including students, guardians, teachers, and local residents. Milestone students chanted slogans, demanding accountability, as additional police forces were deployed to control the swelling crowd and ensure order around the crash site.

At 10:30am, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul and Education Adviser Prof CR Abrar arrived at the school to inspect the site.

As they approached the crash zone, groups of students surrounded them, chanting slogans, "Fraud! Fraud!", "Why did my brother die?" and "We want answers from the administration!"

The protest chants rang out three times before the advisers were escorted to the conference room on the ground floor of College Building No 5, where they met five to seven student representatives for a closed-door discussion.

Outside, hundreds of students continued their demonstration.

On the school field, HSC examinee Md Ratul Chowdhury, who lives in the hostel, described what he witnessed.

"We heard a loud noise and ran to see what had happened. There was a huge fire. People were filming. Students were being pulled out by breaking the window grills," he said.

"Then the army came and cleared the area. I never imagined, even in my nightmares, that a plane would crash into our college."

Ratul was scheduled to sit for his chemistry paper 2 exam today which was postponed.

"I got the message around 3:00am. But some of our friends had already left for their exam centres by morning. The notice came very late."

Meanwhile, Milestone College Director Russell Talukder told The Daily Star that a help desk had been set up below building no. 1 to provide and collect information regarding the deceased and the injured.

"Teachers are stationed there to update and assist guardians," he said.

"We are grieving. We are devastated," Russell added.

"Many of our teachers and students have died. Many others are still in hospital receiving treatment."