'We want our father back'

Akhtara Begum was with her husband Mohammad Nazrul Islam when the Bangladeshi plane crashed at the Kathmandu airport killing 49 people. Most of the bodies were badly damaged and hard to identify. Twenty-six Bangladeshis were among the victims. Of them, 23 were sent back home on Monday after identification. Nazrul Islam’s mortal remains will be sent home from Nepal on Wednesday. Meanwhile, seven of the 10 Bangladeshis who survived the crash, are undergoing treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. A heartbreaking scene played out at the Army Stadium Monday afternoon when the bodies were taken there. Akhtara’s daughters Kakon and Konok had gone here to receive the body of their mother. They could not control themselves when the vehicles carrying the victims’ bodies arrived at the stadium. The sisters broke down in tears and one of them fainted. Their relatives were trying to console them but the pain of loss was too great. “Where is my father? I want my father back,” they wailed. Forty-nine people were killed when a plane operated by Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla crashed at Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport on March 12. Abid Sultan, the plane’s pilot, was laid to rest at Banani Military Graveyard after Magrib payers. The former Air Force pilot was described by fellow aviators as one of the most sincere pilots. Co-pilot Prithula Rashid's mother Rafeja Begum had also gone to the Army Stadium to receive her body. “Please pray for all the victims so that they can rest in peace,” she said. Another victim SM Mahmudur Rahman's wife Sanjida Afrin Jhorna said her husband had gone to Nepal for official reasons. “But I lost him,” she said. US-Bangla crew member Khawaja Hossain Mohammad Shafey's sister Basimah Saifullah said she was proud of her brother. “We heard from Nepal that Khawaja risked his life and saved some passenger,” she said. Another crew member Sharmin Akter Nabila's mother Nila Zaman was crying for her daughter. She requested everyone to pray for the victims. Salina Begum was also there for her son Md Rokibul Hasan. The bereaved mother fainted. “Where is my beloved son? Bring him back. I want my son back,” she cried.