![]() Location of Makkah Region in Saudi Arabia
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Date | 11 March 2002 |
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Location | Mecca, Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia |
Deaths | 15 |
Non-fatal injuries | 50 |
Property damage | School |
Coordinates: 21°24′58″N 39°48′58″E / 21.416°N 39.816°E
On March 11, 2002, a fire at a girls' school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia killed fifteen people, all young girls. The event was especially notable due to complaints that Saudi Arabia's "religious police" (aka the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice) stopped schoolgirls from leaving the burning building and hindered rescue workers because the girls were not wearing correct Islamic dress, and possibly for not being escorted by a male. As Hanny Megally, Executive Director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch put it, "Women and girls may have died unnecessarily because of extreme interpretations of the Islamic dress code. State authorities with direct and indirect responsibility for this tragedy must be held accountable."
According to Saudi press reports, the blaze at Mecca Intermediate School No. 31 started at about 8am. The blaze began in a room on the top floor, apparently caused by an unattended cigarette.
As a result of the fire and ensuing rush to escape, 15 young girls died, and more than 50 were injured. Nine of the dead girls were Saudis; the rest were from Chad, Egypt, Guinea, Niger, and Nigeria. The majority of the deaths occurred when a staircase collapsed as the girls fled the building. The residential property upon which the school was built was overcrowded with 800 pupils. In addition, the building may have lacked proper safety infrastructure and equipment, such as fire stairs and alarms.