A female school principal refused to allow male rescue teams onto the school-grounds after a student had an epileptic attack, and other students fainted at the sight of their fellow classmate in such distress. Ahmad Al-Hariri, assistant director of the Girls' Education Department in Jeddah, confirmed that one student had an epileptic fit and that others had fainted. The 43rd Girls High School in the Naseem District reported that seven girls had fainted, but when the four all-male rescue teams arrived at the school, the principal demanded all-women teams. The four medical teams from Thaghar Hospital, King Abdul Aziz Hospital, Maternity Hospital, and the Red Crescent failed to get access to the female students. The Civil Defense was present because of a suspected leak of chemical gases from the science laboratory. The principal was “stubborn” in refusing to allow the male rescuers into the building, one medic said. The principal told them that the cases were under control. However, about an hour later, a full female medical team was brought in to attend to the cases. “We received the report and rushed our rescue teams to the school, but we were denied access by the principal,” said Col. Abdullah Al-Juaid, the spokesman for the Civil Defense in the Makkah region. “The teams were told that the cases were okay, and we had to respect the wish of the principal and the representative of the education department,” the spokesman added.
