Controversy erupted in Saudi Arabia after a female student died of a heart attack in Riyadh's King Saud University. The local paper Okaz reported on Thursday that the university took an hour to allow male paramedics to enter the building due to the university's strict rules against allowing men on the female-only campus.

The university's rector, Badran Al-Omar, vigorously denied the accusations, saying that paramedics were allowed in immediately, and that the university did everything they could to save the student, identified as postgraduate student Amna Bawazeer.

Students reported the incident to Okaz and expressed their displeasure at the narrow-minded attitude of the university officials. One student commented, "We do not see any necessity that is more pressing than rescuing the life of a human being from imminent death."

Al-Omar claimed that there was no delay in admitting the paramedics. He told AP reporters, "They called the ambulance at 12:35 p.m. and ambulance staff was there by 12:45 p.m. and entered immediately. There was no barring them at all. They entered from a side door." He did admit, however, that it took 25 minutes for the ambulance to be called.

Another staff member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the paramedics had not been admitted immediately, and that the university staff had panicked.

The girl's death has sparked a social media storm. Twitter users in Saudi Arabia have condemned the Kingdom's strict segregation of men and women and called for reform.

For some, this incident was eerily reminiscent of one in 2002 in which 15 schoolgirls burned to death in Mecca, allegedly because the religious police would not allow them to exit their dormitory while immodestly dressed. The girls had fled from the fire without their headscarves and abayas (the full-length, loose coat that women must wear in public in Saudi Arabia).