Another jet crash victim, Mahia, dies as death toll rises to 31

The 15-year-old sustained burns on 50 percent of her body, including her respiratory tract, a doctor says

Mahia, another Milestone School and College student critically injured in the deadly jet crash, has died, as the official death toll in the aviation disaster climbed to 31.

15-year-old Mahia succumbed to her injuries at around 4:30pm on Thursday at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

Dr Shawon Bin Rahman, a resident surgeon at the facility, confirmed her death.

“Mahia had sustained burns over 50 percent of her body, including her respiratory tract,” he said. “She died while in intensive care.”

Just hours earlier, around 1:50pm, another 15-year-old student, Mahtab Rahman, died at the same institute. He had suffered burns on 85 percent of his body and had also been on life support in the ICU.

With Mahia’s death, the number of fatalities at the burn institute alone has reached 13.

The fatal incident occurred on Monday afternoon when a Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet crashed into the front of a campus building at Milestone School and College in Dhaka’s Diabari.

Most of the victims were children. At least 55 others remain hospitalised across several facilities, including the burn institute and the Combined Military Hospital. Seven of them remain in critical condition.

The crash has become the deadliest military aviation disaster in Bangladesh’s history.