Milestone tragedy: Yunus visits burn institute to inquire about injured

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus visited the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute last night to inquire about the treatment of the patients injured in the fighter jet crash at Milestone School and College Uttara's Diabari of the capital.

Upon arriving at the hospital at 9:10pm, Yunus met with hospital director Prof Mohammad Nasiruddin, who briefed him on the accounts of the day of the incident and the current status of the patients.

Nasir said that currently the patients hospitalised are being treated based on the advice of the multidisciplinary consultation board. The patients have been assessed according to international protocols, and in order to ensure the best service, consultations are being taken from foreign experts alongside Bangladeshi doctors.

The facility is currently treating four critical, nine severe, 23 intermediate category burn victims. These categories, he said, are subject to change based on each patient's condition.

The chief adviser inquired about urgent medical needs, to which the director responded that all necessary equipment, medication, and support have been provided by the government. A few additional tools were brought in by the visiting Singaporean medical team.

Special Assistant to the CA for the health ministry (with the status of state minister) Prof Md Sayedur Rahman detailed the chain of response following the accident. Initially, burn victims were rushed to nearby hospitals where swift preliminary care was administered. Most were then transferred to the burn institute and Combined Military Hospital.

He noted that the ministry had immediately alerted the burn institute to prepare, enabling doctors, nurses, and emergency teams to treat nearly 30 patients upon arrival.

Confusion over casualty numbers arose initially due to swift transfers across more than 10 medical facilities. Several victims required DNA profiling for identification, delaying the final figures.

Sayedur also briefed on a critical gap in ambulance availability, exposing limitations within the country's emergency health infrastructure.

In response, Yunus instructed that specific recommendations be submitted promptly to improve readiness. He assured that these would be addressed with urgency.