24 die after oxygen tank leak in Nashik hospital
PUNE: Twenty-two Covid-19 patients — 11 men and 11 women — died of oxygen deprivation in Nashik in north Maharashtra on Wednesday after an oxygen tank leak led to a malfunctioning of ventilators and oxygen support equipment at Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital. Two more patients died later in the evening, taking the toll in the incident to 24.
State health minister Rajesh Tope said the leak was on account of a fault in the tank’s valves that caused the prescribed oxygen pressure to reduce, leading to oxygen deprivation. The civic-run hospital was treating 157 Covid patients, of which 131 were on oxygen support and 15 on ventilators. Though the hospital’s capacity is 150, Nashik’s medical infrastructure has been overwhelmed by the second wave of Covid-19. On April 20 alone, the district reported nearly 4,000 Covid-19 cases and 48 deaths. Its overall caseload stood at 248,991 with 2,478 fatalities. The district’s active caseload on April 20 was 42,242.
“The coronavirus crisis has plunged the country into a vicious cycle of misfortune,” said chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. “There is a shortage of oxygen, medicine, and beds at various places, and people are dying. In all of this, the news of the accident that led to the death of 22 patients is shocking and heartbreaking. I have no words to express my grief.”
He added: “How can we comfort the relatives of the deceased? How can we wipe their tears? This may be an accident, but the grief of the relatives of the deceased is immense.”
Later in the evening, two more patients died. “The death toll in Nashik tragedy rose to 24 by evening after two more persons on ventilator succumbed. These two could not get sufficient oxygen earlier in the day as a result of which their condition deteriorated,” said Nashik district collector Suraj Mandhare.
Thackeray also announced an investigation into the incident and a ₹5 lakh ex-gratia payment to the families of each of the deceased. “This unfortunate incident must not be politicised,” he said. “This has traumatised the whole of Maharashtra. We will fix responsibility, and no one will be spared.”
As news of the oxygen tank leak spread, angry relatives of patients and others barged into the hospital.