Nashik: In an unfortunate incident, 22 COVID-19 patients died on Wednesday due to low oxygen supply after an oxygen tanker leaked outside Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra. As many as 171 patients were present in the hospital at the time of the incident. According to Nashik district collector Suraj Mandhare, the supply was interrupted after leakage in one of the storage tankers at the hospital. All the victims were on ventilators and were in need of constant oxygen supply. The hospital had called in tankers after it had begun to run out of oxygen.

Officials said there was no oxygen flowing to ventilators for about 30 minutes, leading to the deaths. However, relatives of the deceased have a different story to tell.

What are people saying?

Many families have alleged that the supply was closed for 2 hours, not 30 minutes. As the oxygen supply was halted, there was panic all around, with heartbreaking visuals showing families trying to help the patients as they gasped for breath.

According to a Bhaskar report, a woman said that her daughter-in-law died in agony before the eyes, but the hospital did nothing. Another person said that around 12:30 pm, the oxygen supply was halted which remained off for 2 hours leading to his brother’s death. Some others have claimed that that there was a shortage of oxygen in the hospital since Tuesday night and authorities made them run around to inquire about the same, but to no avail. Many others also have alleged that the “lowered supply of oxygen” claimed the lives of their kin.

Vicky Jadhav, whose grandmother was also among those who died, said she was ‘doing fine’ when he left the hospital to bring her food. “That’s when I got a call that she had become critical. When I asked hospital authorities, they said that there is no oxygen left in the hospital”, he told BBC.

Even as stunned relatives slammed the civic authorities, NMC Municipal Commissioner Kailash Jadhav ordered a probe into the incident and assured action against all found guilty of lapses. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives and tweeted, ”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.”

The incident comes at a time when India is witnessing a massive surge in COVID-19 cases as the second wave of the pandemic struck the country. Amid the rise in coronavirus cases, states such as Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are facing a crippling shortage of life-saving medical oxygen.