Maharashtra:22 Covid patients dead as leak disrupts Oxygen supply

Twenty-two COVID-19 patients died in Maharashtra's Nashik after an oxygen tanker leaked outside a hospital on Wednesday, disrupting supply to patients for around 30 minutes  at the Zakir Hussain municipal hospital. Accorging to district collector Suraj Mandhare all the victims were on ventilators and in need of constant oxygen supply. Zakir Hussain Hospital is a Covid-dedicated facility. Around 150 patients were either oxygen-dependent or on ventilators.

As per the information available with, patients who were on ventilators at the hospital in Nashik have died. The leakage was spotted at the oxygen tank which was supplying oxygen to these patients. The interrupted supply could be linked to the deaths of the patients in the hospital," The state health minister RajeshTope said. Panic struck patients and their family members as the oxygen supply was stopped. Heart wrenching visuals showed families trying to help the patients as they gasped for breath.

Fire trucks were rushed to the spot to stop the leak. Videos showed water sprayed to control the leak; the firefighting team also wore protective gear. Around 31 patients out of 80 who need oxygen have been shifted to other hospitals.An official of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's office said that the victims' families will be compensated with ₹ 5 lakh each. A high level probe into the matter will be launched, the official added.Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims."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," he tweeted.