“I take my daughter to school every day, but yesterday I didn’t. One of my brothers took her. As she left home, she said to me, ‘Ammu, I’m going to school, tata bye bye.’ I didn’t know that would be the last thing she’d ever say to me,” wailed Rina Begum, mother of Saima Akter, one of the victims of the Uttara fighter jet crash.
Nine-year-old Saima, a third-grade student at Milestone School and College, died when a Bangladesh Air Force fighter aircraft crashed into a building of the institution in Uttara, Dhaka, on Monday. So far, the death toll has climbed to 27, with 78 others receiving treatment in various hospitals.
Saima’s father, Mohammad Shah Alam, hails from Biprabardha village in Gazipur City Corporation’s Ward 21. Due to his job at PRAN-RFL, the family had been living in Uttara. Around 1:30 am Monday night, Saima’s body was brought back to their village by ambulance. She was laid to rest on Tuesday at 11 am following a janaza held at the local mosque’s field. The entire village was steeped in mourning. Hundreds of villagers gathered at their house, and many broke down in tears upon seeing Saima’s burnt face.
Saima’s elder brother Sabbir Hossain, who recently passed SSC from the same school, wept uncontrollably upon seeing her body. “You were my heart, my soul. We used to go to school together every day. Now who will I go with? Why did you leave me? I can’t live without you,” he cried.
Her father Shah Alam recounted, “A friend called to tell me a plane had crashed at the school. I searched all day but couldn’t find her. Around 8 pm, I learned her body was at CMH. I brought her home later. Just last night, she hugged me tightly before going to sleep. She kissed me so many times I lost count. That was the last time she saw her mother too. She will never hug me again. How will I live with this pain?”
LND/SAE
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