Milestone Tragedy: Students Still Haunted by the Horror

A year after the devastating crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara, the memories of that tragic day continue to haunt many students, teachers and parents.

On 21 July 2025, the morning had begun like any other school day. Classes were under way in every room of Project-2, one of the college buildings, while young pupils sat in their classrooms in uniform, their schoolbags filled with books. At 1pm, classes ended and students began preparing to return home.

Just six minutes later, at 1:06pm, an F-7 BGI training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force took off from Bir Uttam A K Khandker Air Base in Dhaka. At around 1:18pm, the aircraft crashed into the Haider Ali Academic Building of Milestone School and College.

The aircraft’s wreckage reached the staircase area of the building used by primary school pupils. The nose of the aircraft penetrated part of the staircase, while the impact and ensuing fire engulfed two classrooms. Within moments, the lively school campus descended into chaos.

Students ran in panic as screams, cries, smoke and dust filled the premises. The atmosphere was soon overwhelmed by the anguish of parents and relatives searching desperately for their loved ones. One after another, badly injured and burned students were carried out of the damaged buildings.

The tragedy claimed 36 lives, including the pilot, a teacher and 28 students. Many other students, teachers and members of the school staff were injured.

Following the crash, the injured were taken to hospitals across the capital. Those who suffered severe burns received treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Although many eventually recovered and returned home after prolonged treatment, several continue to bear physical scars from their injuries, while the psychological impact of the disaster remains deeply rooted in their memories.

The identification of some victims proved particularly difficult because their bodies had been severely burned and disfigured. Later, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) used DNA testing to confirm the identities of five victims before handing their remains over to their families.

For many survivors, however, the tragedy did not end when they left hospital.

Class 12 student Naimul Hasan Adit was around 100 metres from the building when the crash occurred. He witnessed the terrifying impact and saw the building engulfed in destruction. He also saw fellow students caught in the disaster.

The experience left a lasting psychological impact on him. For a long time afterwards, he would wake up frightened during the night. His parents considered moving him to another educational institution because of his mental state. Yet Adit chose to remain at Milestone, saying that memories of his friends and classmates kept him connected to the school.

Fourth-grade student Rubaida Noor Alvira was inside the building that was struck by the aircraft. She sustained serious injuries and spent a prolonged period receiving treatment. Now a fifth-grade student, she says she remained traumatised for a long time after the incident.

After returning home from hospital, memories of the crash became particularly difficult for her. She spent two months and seven days in hospital before eventually returning to school when classes resumed.

Today, Alvira says she no longer feels frightened at school. Yet the memory of friends who died in the disaster remains painful. Among them, she remembers Ayman most vividly. They used to talk regularly, but he is no longer there.

The treatment of seventh-grade student Navid Nawaz Dipto also became a widely discussed story of survival. He suffered burns to 45 per cent of his body and spent 97 days in hospital. During that period, he underwent 36 surgical procedures and eight skin grafting operations. After an arduous recovery, he was eventually able to return home. His long battle for survival has become one of the most striking examples of resilience to emerge from the tragedy.

For parents of injured students, the effects of the disaster remain visible in everyday life. Some children appear unusually irritable and lose their temper suddenly. Others still become frightened when they hear the sound of an aircraft flying overhead, covering their ears in panic.

Many struggle to concentrate in class. Some wake up crying in the middle of the night. These reactions, parents say, are reminders that physical recovery does not necessarily mean that a child has fully recovered emotionally.

For families who lost their children, the pain is even more profound. Each passing day can feel unbearably long. When they see other children leaving home with schoolbags on their shoulders, bereaved parents are reminded of the children who will never again walk through their doors on their way to school.

Families of the victims have said that the Tk2 million in compensation announced by the government can never compensate for the loss of a child. Some families have therefore reportedly declined to accept the financial assistance.

A year has now passed, but 21 July remains a day of grief and unbearable memories for the families of those who died, the injured students and the wider Milestone community.

The presence of the wrecked aircraft near the school has also become a painful reminder of that day. For students and parents who lived through the tragedy, the sight of the aircraft continues to bring back memories of the horror that transformed an ordinary school afternoon into one of the darkest days in the institution’s history.