It has been four days since the plane crash over Milestone School and College, yet there is still no trace of nine-year-old Afia Umme Maryam.
Her father, Abdul Qadir, has been desperately calling everyone he can think of, pleading with them to help find his only daughter.
On Thursday afternoon, Abdul Qadir, father of missing Afia Umme Maryam, spoke over the phone. Afia was a third-grade student in the Akash section of Milestone School and College.
A businessman by profession, Abdul Qadir lived happily with his wife, elder son, and younger daughter Afia in the Chandalbhog area of Diabari, Uttara.
But in just one afternoon, the family was plunged into silence and grief after losing their beloved daughter.
When asked whether Afia had been found, Abdul Qadir sighed deeply and said: “No. I have been standing in front of the CMH morgue for the past four days, hoping to identify my daughter. But the bodies are so badly burned, there is no hair, the eyes and face are completely charred. Everything looks the same. Only teeth and fingers remain.
"My daughter had long hair, big eyes. As a father, how can I find my child among them? I have searched everywhere, but found nothing. Everyone told me to go to CMH; when I did, all I saw was ash. Now my wife and I have both submitted blood and necessary samples for DNA testing. They said they will inform us in seven days.”
At one point, breaking down in tears, he said: “I have one son and one daughter. She was the youngest, always filled the house with laughter. She was good at her studies too. On Monday, she had coaching. After school ended at 1pm, she and five to six others were sitting in class waiting for coaching to start. If only she had left as soon as school was over, maybe she would have survived.”
Nidhi and her best friend Afia were eating tiffin together after class.
Since the crash, Afia’s best friend, Wakifa Ferdous Nidhi, 9, has also been missing. Like Afia, she was a third-grade student in the Akash section of Milestone School and College. As they lived in the same neighbourhood, they were always together, going to school side by side.
Nidhi’s uncle, Billal Hossain, said: “Those who recovered the six bodies from CMH told us that the bodies were found together. They were sitting side by side at the back of the classroom. In front of them was a burnt tiffin box. Normally, Nidhi and Afia would eat lunch together after school before coaching began. It is assumed they sat down to eat that day too, but never got to finish. It was all over in an instant.”
Regarding identifying Nidhi’s body, he said: “My niece had a lens in her right eye. The doctor once told us during surgery that if exposed to extreme heat or fire, the eye would burst. We identified her based on the condition of one body’s eye. There is no other way to recognise the faces. The bodies are charred black. There’s no hair on the head, only the teeth are intact.”
At this point, he broke down and said: “If only she had not stayed back in class waiting for coaching, my niece and the other children might still be alive today.”
He questioned the practice of conducting coaching classes within the school. “The school used to call again and again, so my brother finally enrolled her in coaching. If she had just left right after school that day, would this have happened? And yet the teachers claim there are no official coaching classes. Then how is such a prestigious school forcing students into compulsory coaching? How is the school administration allowing this?”
'All we want is at least our daughter’s body'
Like Afia and Nidhi, Raisa Moni, 9, also a student of the same section of Milestone’s third grade, has been missing since the plane crash.
Even if they cannot get her back alive, Shahabul Sheikh and his wife just want their daughter’s body, to hold her one last time. But even after five days, there is still no sign of her.
Raisa Moni was the daughter of Shahabul Sheikh from Bajra village in Gopalpur union, Alfadanga upazila of Faridpur. Shahabul is a businessman based in Mirpur, Dhaka. Raisa was the second among two sisters and one brother.
Shahabul said: “She was much more lively than the other two. Always kept the house buzzing. She was full of demands. She was good at studies too. I enrolled her in coaching to help her do even better. That morning, I took my daughter to school alive. It has been days, and I do not even have her body. Among the six bodies at CMH, we recognised one by the facial shape and the structure of the ears; we believe it is my daughter. But tell me—how can I not recognise my own child? I know every part of her, her hands, feet, eyes. I have cradled her to sleep, fed her, bathed her. How could I possibly be mistaken? They’ve taken our samples for DNA testing and said we will hear back in seven days. But how will I survive these seven days without seeing my daughter?”
Making a request to the media, he said: “Even if not alive, please give me back my daughter’s body. I just want to hold her one last time.”
Identities of five children confirmed
Following the devastating fire caused by the plane crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara, five missing children have been officially identified.
They are:
Wakifa Ferdous Nidhi, daughter of Faruk Hossain and Salma Akter
Lamia Akter Sonia, daughter of Babul and Majeda
Raisa Moni, daughter of Shahabul Sheikh and Mim
Afsana Akter Priya, daughter of Md Abbas Uddin and Minu Akter
Maryam Umme Afia, daughter of Abdul Qadir and Umme Tamima Akter
According to CID sources, members of the CID’s DNA lab collected 11 DNA samples from the deceased bodies and remains kept at CMH. Upon analysing these, DNA profiles of five females were obtained.
From 11 family members across five families, samples were analysed and matched, confirming the identities of five bodies.
CID ASP (Media) Azad Rahman told Dhaka Tribune: “We have already published the DNA test results. The process of handing over the bodies will begin soon.”
