22 patients dead after 02 leaks in Maha
THE VICTIMS, ALL COVID-19 PATIENTS ON VENTILATORS, SUFFOCATED TO DEATH WHEN THE SUPPLY STOPPED AT THE HOSPITAL IN NASHIK
NASHIK: At least 22 Covid-19 patients -- 11 men and an equal number of women -- on ventilator support suffocated to death on Wednesday when their oxygen supply stopped suddenly because of a malfunction in the tank at a civic-run hospital in Nashik in Maharashtra, officials said.
State health minister Rajesh Tope said the incident took place at civic-run Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital where some patients on ventilator support died as the oxygen pressure dropped following the leakage. Tope cited malfunctioning valves as the cause of the leakage.
District collector Suraj Mandhare said so far 22 deaths have been reported at the hospital. “Twenty-two persons have died due to low pressure of oxygen. We have now restored the oxygen supply,” he said.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each to the families of the 22 patients. Expressing grief over the incident, Thackeray also announced a thorough probe into it.
“The oxygen leakage that led to the death of 22 people is a shocking incident. I cannot express my grief in words,” he said.
Nashik divisional commissioner Radhakrishna Game said, “The incident was reported at around 10am when the socket of the oxygen tank malfunctioned. Hospital authorities shifted some patients though 22 lost their lives as oxygen pressure was reduced.”
He said the accident occurred when the oxygen cylinder was being refilled by a private agency.
“The agency executives noticed the leakage,” Game said.
The municipal corporation shifted cylinders from other facilities in the city to help the patients at the hospital, another official said. Hospital officials then contacted municipal commissioner Kailash Jadhav seeking technical help to stop the leakage. A 13 kilolitre oxygen tank was set up on the premises of the hospital, located in the Dwarka area of Nashik.
After the incident, relatives and families of the victims entered the ward, leading to chaos.