Eighteen students were singed in a fire that broke out on Thursday at a supermarket located near their school in Al-Salamah district.

Makkah Civil Defense spokesman Col. Saeed Sarhan said flames engulfed part of the school. It was immediately evacuated.

Several residents in the area ran away to escape the fire. All the injured were provided urgent medical aid at the site by the Saudi Red Crescent. “Red Crescent teams arrived on the scene immediately after the Civil Defense teams succeeded to extinguishing the fire,” said Sarhan. “None of the student was seriously injured.”

He said that investigation were under way to find out the cause of the fire.

“The flames were licking the school building when Civil Defense personnel arrived to control the situation,” he added.