Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal conveyed the condolences of the Saudi leadership during a visit to the homes of the two bereaved families in Faisaliyah and Samer districts on Sunday.
The governor told the families that he shared in their sorrow as he considered them as his daughters.
“We consider them as our daughters before they were yours,” the prince said.
On Saturday Prince Khaled visited the fire-ravaged school and ordered a five-member committee to begin an extensive investigation to determine the causes of the fire.
The committee comprises representatives from the Makkah Governorate, the General Investigation Department, Criminal Investigation, Civil Defense and Saudi Electricity Company.
The panel is expected to hand its final report to Prince Khaled within a week.
Arab News has learned that preliminary investigation had already started Saturday night, and that a colonel from Riyadh was called in to ensure transparency. The colonel’s expertise is in forensic evidence.
Dr. Sami Badawood, director of health in Jeddah, said that the condition of the injured teachers and students still in hospital is stable. The injured were treated in King Fahd Hospital, King Abdul Aziz Hospital and King Saud Hospital.
Meanwhile, the father of Reem Al-Nahar, 25, one of the two teachers who died in the incident, was heartbroken over the demise of his daughter, who was receiving a monthly salary of SR2,000.
“Reem was teaching at the school to support her sisters and also forget about the death of her mother,” said the teary-eyed father.
“I just cannot believe that Reem died in the fire,” said her uncle.
Ghadeer Katoua, deputy director of the primary school, was the second victim.
“We were shocked when we realized that the second body belonged to our daughter,” said Fareed Katoua, her uncle. Ghadeer was mother of two girls.
Ghadeer’s aunt described her as a quiet woman who loved her family and died while saving students from the fire.
“She was one of the beloved daughters of her mother,” she added.
Taif Saeed Al-Qahtani, 12, was one of the girls who jumped out of the window.
“I did not feel anything after that. The only thing I know is that I am now in hospital due to some bruises,” she said while thanking God for saving her life and the lives of most students and teachers.
Her father Saeed, however, expressed his dismay over the lack of proper crisis management in such an important private school with 750 students. “They could not organize evacuation of students in an orderly and safe manner,” he added.
The mother of Hadeel Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, another injured girl, called for proper investigation of the incident and punishment to negligent officials.
Some teachers said they had tried to put out the fire using available means but it spread like wildfire.
“We were shocked to hear the death of teachers Reem and Ghadeer,” one teacher told Arab News.
Some teachers had taken injured students to nearby houses in private cars to provide them with first-aid treatment.
