Air base essential to protect Dhaka’s sky: Air Force

An air base for fighter aircraft is essential in Dhaka to keep the sky of the capital city protected and to ensure its security, Bangladesh Air Force Air Commodore Shahidul Islam remarked on Monday.

He said this while addressing a media conference at the Old PSC Building of Aviation University in the capital’s Tejgaon area this afternoon.

Stating that no air base for training fighter aircraft will be shifted from Dhaka, Shahidul Islam further said it needs a huge space to conduct a fighter jet. At the same time, this air base is essential to ensure security of the capital’s sky. Such bases at capital cities are common around the globe.

Air Force’s emergency coordination centre’s Air Commodore Md Mizanur Rahman read out a written statement at the media conference.

The Air Force will remain with the families of the deceased and injured in the accident, he added. “Highest assistance will be provided to them, if necessary.”

A newsperson asked him, whether the pilot had communication with the air traffic control during the accident, Mizanur Rahman said, a high level investigation committee has been constituted in this regard. That committee will present its findings in detail.

He, however, informed the media conference that pilot Toukir had communication until the last moment.

Milestone School and College principal Jahangir Alam was present at the press conference.

He told the conference that out of 738 students, 538 were present at the school on the day of the accident.

When asked about the grill of the ground floor of the school building, he said, “The whole area was a low lying land once. Later, the area was filled with earth. But the grill was installed at the ground floor even before that, thinking about the security of the children.”

The principal further said they have not yet decided when the school would open.