E-Paper
22 Covid patients at Nashik hospital die following leakage from oxygen cylinder
Maharashtra 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
At least 22 Covid-19 patients lost their lives following leakage from an oxygen tanker at a Nashik hospital.
Maharashtra 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 said malfunctioning valves caused 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.
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. After the incident, relatives and others started entering the ward, leading to chaos. This also led to a delay in restoring the situation. The entire staff is still in a state of shock.”
Also Read | Goa healthcare under severe stress amid record Covid-19 numbers
He said the accident occurred when the oxygen cylinder was being refilled by a private agency. “The agency executives noticed leakage of gas. Technicians were immediately called and problem was fixed,” said Game.
According to Nashik Municipal authorities, the hospital had 150 Covid patients, including 23 on ventilator support.
Following the incident, security was beefed up at the hospital to prevent any untoward incident as angry relatives of the victims were demanding immediate action against those responsible.
Nashik police commissioner Deepak Pandey said, “We have beefed up the bandobast here after some deaths were reported. The relatives [of victims] are very angry.”
Angry relatives alleged that the hospital did not inform them about the incident. “It was only after we barged inside that we got to know that our loved ones were dead,” one of them said.
