She refused to leave her mother... and both burned to death

A woman in her early twenties and her old mother were burnt to death in the Jazan Public Hospital which caught fire last Thursday in Saudi Arabia.

This story went viral on social media in the past couple of days. The fire broke out in Al Jazan Hospital, and a total of 25 people died in the fire, including a child. The fire, according to sources, started in the children's nursery late Thursday night, and then spread to the entire hospital.

A man came to rescue the woman who gave birth to a baby and her old mother who was hospitalized at the same hospital. He tried to carry the mother, but failed to do so as she was overweight. Then he tried to rescue the woman and carry her out, but she refused to leave her mother alone. As a result, both of them died.

The man said that he lived the worst minutes of his life trying to carry the mother or convince the younger woman to leave and she refused. He had to leave them behind when the fire got too close to their room, and they were burnt to death.

The emergency exits of the hospital were locked by chains from outside, as a result a lot of people could not be saved.

This sad incident brought the fact that many emergency exits in hospitals are closed from outside.

People also called the Health Minister to start immediate investigations into the fire, and punish all those who were responsible for locking the doors.

Maha, a Saudi woman said that she saw videos of how some patients were trying to break the emergency exit and escape the fire.

“It is sad. They were patients, and they were trying to escape the fire, and some of them suffered from serious burns or died. The person responsible for locking the emergency doors must be sued and punished strictly.”

Abdulla, another Saudi said that if it is called an emergency exit, then why it’s locked. “This is ridiculous, and it shows how careless the management of the hospital is.”