At first glance, that works out to about 40 students per square yard. Somehow, I doubt it.
Riyadh, 12th March 2002The General Presidency of Girls Education said here on Monday that 14 students were killed and 50 injured in a girls school in Makkah following a panic escape attempt after they heard there was a fire in the school.
A statement of the Presidency said that no one died in the fire but the girls rushed to the school gate to escape through the stairway and the victims were trampled to death in the stampede.
The statement pointed out that a fire broke out at about 8 a.m. in the morning in the upper ceiling of stairway of the 31st Intermediate School. The civil defense controlled the fire at its source and prevented it from spreading to classes or other parts of the school.
It explained that the girls rushed to the gate of the school immediately after they had heard about the fire.
Prince Abdulmajeed bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Makkah region, visited the school and the injured in the hospital. The Governor ordered formation of a committee to investigate the reasons behind the accident.
The President of the Girls Education, Dr. Ali bin Murshed Al-Murshed also visited the school and the injured.
The General Presidency of Girls Education expressed its grief over the accident, the statement said.
Source: SPA