At least 22 Covid patients killed in India after oxygen supply disrupted
New Delhi, Apr 21 (EFE).- At least 22 Covid-19 patients were killed on Wednesday at a hospital in India’s western state of Maharashtra, after a leak in an oxygen tank led to the supply being disrupted for dozens of patients connected to ventilators.
“As per current information, 22 people have died due to interrupted supply of oxygen at the Zakir Hussain municipal hospital. The patients were on ventilators as well as on oxygen supply, which got interrupted after the leakage in the oxygen supply tank,” Nashik District Magistrate Suraj Mandhare told reporters.
The Zakir Hussain hospital in the Nashik district is a dedicated Covid facility in the state of Maharashtra, epicenter of the disease in the country with over 4 million confirmed cases in a little over a year.
Images of the incident show the facility covered by a dense layer of white smoke, coming out of an external tank at the hospital.
Although the causes of the leak are not yet known, state authorities have said that the details of the incident will be released soon.
“The tragedy at a hospital in Nashik because of oxygen tank leakage is heart-wrenching. Anguished by the loss of lives due to it. Condolences to the bereaved families in this sad hour,” tweeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He added that the unfortunate incident would be extensively investigated.
India is witnessing its second Covid wave, much more aggressive than the first one, with record daily caseloads of almost 300,000 and 2,023 deaths in the last 24 hours.
According to official data, of the total 15.6 million confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic, as many as 2.1 million infections are currently active, triggering a collapse in India’s overburdened health system. EFE
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