Such a heart-rending air crash must not recur

BAF Training aircraft crash on Milestone school and collee on Tuesday

Mostafa Kamal Majumder

Smiling at his friend, a tiny tot said his last words, “I knew you would come”. The class friend who was away from the room that went ablaze after the fighter jet crashed on the Milestone School and College, anxiously entered the place disregarding words from a Fire Service man, “Don’t go there, all are dead.” 

As he returned from the room the Fire Service man again told him, “Did not I tell you it was meaningless to get there?” The boy firmly retorted, “No, it was the most valuable moment. My friend was alive, smiled at me and said his last words.”

Many such heart-rending stories are emerging as at least 27 ill-fated students most of them under 10 died and more than a hundred of them were fighting for life at different hospitals in the capital city on Tuesday.

A small boy, his clothes and hair burnt, was instinctively walking with pain after coming out of the fire. His skins were badly burnt and worst of all his lungs 70 percent burnt. The boy dies before the nightfall. Like him a young man, apparently in his early twenties, walked out of the fire aided by another man who carefully held him by the right hand. His clothes were also burnt. It could not be ascertained whether this is still alive or not.

Among the school’s teachers Mehrun Chowdhury entered a blazing room and brought out about 20 children. In her second attempt to rescue more children she got engulfed in fire died several hours later at the hospital. In her death-bed Mehrun held her husband’s hand to her chest and said this is the last time I am seeing you. Her husband told people at the funeral at Thakurgaon late in the afternoon he could barely hold her burnt hand but said, you did not think of your two minor children. Mehrun said those who were burning in the classroom were also her children. Her own children are now orphans. 

Taukir who piloted the fighter jet was on a solo flight, a distinctive test in his career told the flight control soon after the take off his jet was not floating on the air, but rather loving going down losing altitude. Clearly there was a mechanical trouble in the engine. Taukir, flight control people said, tried till the last moment to save the plan and glide away from the crowded school. He tried to eject at the last moment but his jet had already entered the school building making it futile. The injured pilot died minutes later, sources said.

A man from Rajshahi, Taukir had married only about a year ago in a Gazipur family. He told his wife he would return quickly after completing the flight. But this did not happen. Air Force men said on condition of anonymity that Taukir apparently looked for the nearby airport runway to touch down. But luck did not favour him.

The entire nation was shocked at the tragic accident that befell the innocent angels at the happiest part of their lives. Some parents in their frantic bid to locate their babies found them dead at hospitals, some were still looking for their children on Tuesday evening, and some were lucky to get their babies back alive but were still crying in panic. 

Questions have been raised by some quarters the about the use of the F-7 aircraft which was quite old and should better have been discarded by now. Some people are pointing at the maintenance efficiency of BAF and said that the accident rate was three times higher than in the Indian Air Force or the Pakistan Air Force. Some quarters also said that BAF could have opted for the purchase of better quality jets had it been free to make its choices. We want to say that the cause of the accident should be identified at the soonest. If the aircraft was too old, BAF should be careful about using similar jets in the future. And fighter jet maintenance should always be foolproof. We cannot afford to lose out bright pilots due to sheer neglect.