Following the tragic crash of a training aircraft onto a building of Milestone School and College in Uttara, conflicting information has been circulating regarding the number of casualties. Students began protesting on Tuesday morning, alleging that the authorities are not providing accurate information about the death toll. Social media is also abuzz with discussions, and misinformation and fake news are spreading rapidly.
The training aircraft crashed onto the rooftop of the Haider Ali Academic Building, which houses the school section of Milestone. However, it remains unclear how many students were inside the building at the time of the crash. Both the Education Board and the Ministry of Education have sought detailed information from Milestone authorities, but the institution has yet to provide a clear account.
Jago News spoke with at least three teachers who were on campus during the incident. They confirmed that students from grades three to eight attend classes in the Haider Ali Academic Building. By the time of the crash, many classes in the second shift had already ended. Some students had left with their guardians, some were still accompanied by their parents, and others remained in classrooms.
Public Relations Officer Bulbul Ahmed clarified that no students were waiting for coaching classes at the time, contrary to some claims. He told Jago News, "Some are saying the students were waiting for coaching, which is not true. The scheduled school dismissal time was 1:30 pm. However, some teachers had already concluded their classes early, so those students had already left. Others were still inside classrooms."
According to Bulbul Ahmed, the aircraft crashed directly onto classrooms for grades three and four. “There were at least 30 students in each of those two classrooms, totaling around 60 students. A few may have been outside at the time,” he said.
When asked how many students were present in the building during the crash, Ahmed could not provide specific numbers. He explained, “Attendance is recorded in the registers. We do not have data on exactly how many students were present on Monday. Classes had ended, and many had already left, so we cannot provide definitive numbers.”
However, he mentioned that the school is collecting information on any missing students and providing assistance. “Parents can report such cases at our Information Cell located in Academic Building No. 4, which is actively working to support them,” he added.
An official from the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, speaking to Jago News on condition of anonymity, said, “We have records of the total number of students in the school, but not class-wise data. After the incident, we asked Milestone for detailed numbers, but they have not responded.”
An official from the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education also confirmed that they are in communication with the Milestone authorities but have yet to receive any concrete data.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the plane crash has risen to 27, including 25 children under the age of 12. An additional 78 people are currently receiving treatment in various hospitals, five of whom are in critical condition.
These details were revealed by Professor Dr. Sayedur Rahman, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, during a press briefing held Tuesday morning at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.