In YouTube Right Now, the Daily Dot looks at videos that catch our eyes, push our buttons, or move the dials—and that you’ve just got to watch. Right now.
On Saturday, a girls’ private school in Saudia Arabia caught fire, killing two teachers and injuring 46 others.
The two teachers died helping their students escape.
Onlookers, quick with their cameraphones, caught the blaze, girls jumping out of windows on the third floor of the school, and subsequent rescue operations.
On Monday, the footage (and news segments) was among the most-viewed videos in YouTube’s News, Sports, and People & Blogs sections. Including copies, the video was seen more than one million times.
Parents of injured daughters have expressed outrage over the lack of emergency exits and safety measures, a sentiment mirrored by Arab News, which reported teachers as saying onlookers helped break windows for the students to escape.
YouTubers writing in Arabic echoed those sentiments. Some writing in English made tasteless comments, while others chided them for their immature behavior.
Arab News reported that “a preliminary report issued by the investigation committee said the school had fulfilled the Civil Defense’s safety conditions.”
The footage of the fire serves as stark evidence that those conditions may not have been sufficient to protect those who died or were injured.
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, governor of Makkah province, has ordered a more in-depth investigation of the fire, to be completed within a week.
