DHAKA, Bangladesh— Hundreds of students protested Tuesday near the site of the crash of a Bangladesh air force training jet into a school in the nation’s capital, demanding accountability, compensation for victims’ families and the halt of training flights.
The ongoing unrest over Monday’s crash shut down traffic in parts of Dhaka, a city still recovering from last year’s student uprising that ousted the prime minister as the interim government seeks to restore order and organize elections next year. Some students entered the country’s administrative headquarters and were dispersed with tear gas and stun grenades.
The death toll from the crash rose to 31, including at least 25 students, a teacher who died from burns she sustained while helping others escape the two-story building, and the pilot on his first solo flight. Officials said 171 people, mostly students at Milestone School and College and many with burns, were rescued.
As Bangladesh declared Tuesday a day of national mourning, the military launched an investigation into the crash in Dhaka’s densely populated Uttara neighborhood. The civil aviation authority was not directly involved. High Court judges asked the government to form a technical committee to investigate as well.
The protesting students demanded “accurate” publication of identities of the dead and injured, compensation for families and an immediate halt to the use of “outdated and unsafe” training aircraft by the Bangladesh air force. They accused security officials of beating them and manhandling teachers on Monday.
“The exact number of people killed and injured must be made public,” an ex-student of the school, who refused to provide his name, told The Associated Press at the scene.
The military and the office of Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus said there was nothing to hide regarding casualties and they were coordinating with all concerned. There was no response to the other allegations.
The students became furious after two senior government officials — Law Adviser Asif Nazrul and Education Adviser C.R. Abrar — arrived at the scene, forcing them to take cover for several hours inside the campus before security forces escorted them out. Other groups of students forced them to go back. In the evening, after nine hours, most students and the confined advisers left campus amid heavy security.
Elsewhere in Dhaka, students broke through security barricades and entered the Bangladesh Secretariat complex, the country’s administrative headquarters. Security officials used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse them.
Jamuna TV said about 80 students were injured after security officials charged them with batons. The students demanded the resignation of Abrar, who they said delayed announcing that public exams were being canceled during Tuesday’s mourning. Abrar didn’t publicly address the allegation.
