OXYGEN LEAK KILLS 22 PATIENTS ON HOSPITAL VENTILATORS

SATARA At least 22 patients died on Wednesday in a hospital in western India after a disruption to their oxygen supply caused by a leaking tank, the health minister said, as a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases soaks up supplies of the gas.

The incident in the city of Nashik, one of India's worst-hit areas, happened after the tank of oxygen leaked, said Rajesh Tope, the health minister of Maharashtra, the richest state, where the city is located.

“Patients who were on ventilators at the hospital in Nashik have died,” Tope said.

“The leakage was spotted at the tank supplying oxygen to these patients. The interrupted supply could be linked to the deaths of the patients in the hospital.”

India reported 295,041 new infections on Wednesday — the biggest daily rise reported in any country — stretching its hospitals to breaking point, officials said.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A patient cries at a hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra, on Wednesday, after 22 patients died when their oxygen supply, commonly used in COVID-19 cases, was interrupted by a leakage in a supply tank.