NEW DELHI, Apr 21: At least 22 Covid-19 patients on ventilator support lost their lives following leakage from an oxygen tanker at a hospital in Nashik in Maharashtra on Wednesday.
The Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said the incident took place at the Nashik Municipal Corpoation-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.”
Attributing the cause to a valve malfunction in the tanker, Tope said a probe to ascertain negligence had been ordered into the incident.
Sources said massive leakage from an oxygen tank caused disruption in vital oxygen supply for at least half-an-hour, which allegedly resulted in the deaths of several patients who were on ventilator support. A fire brigade team was rushed to the spot of the mishap to contain the leak.
Tope said 157 patients were undergoing treatment at the hospital, of whom 61 were in a critical condition and required oxygen.
Local Shiv Sena leader Sudhakar Badgujar, who was among the first to reach the spot of the accident, expressed fears that the death toll could rise higher and that as many as 30-35 patients could lose their lives.
Mandhare said oxygen was present in the tanker at the time of the leakage. “This tanker is from a private vendor. Apparently, technicians tried to fix the valve when low pressure caused the leakage. This led to the deaths of 22 critical patients who were on ventilator support. My deepest condolences to the kin of the deceased.”
Acknowledging the anger and grief felt by relatives of the deceased, the Collector urged people to maintain restraint and assured that a thorough probe was underway.
“Currently, the other patients are being supplied oxygen from the repaired tanker. They are in a stable condition, as per medical authorities,” Mandhare said.
Chaotic scenes erupted on the hospital premises as fraught relatives of patients converged upon the scene of the tragedy. Irate kin accused the NMC authorities of not giving them proper information on the mishap.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar said the Nashik civic body authorities were to blame for negligence and demanded a case of culpable homicide be lodged against the NMC Commissioner. “One cannot pin the blame for this tragedy just on mere technicians. The NMC authorities and the State government are equally to be blamed for this,” Darekar said.
The BJP is in power in the NMC.
The tragedy comes at a time when Maharashtra, the worst-hit State in India in terms of COVID-19 cases and fatalities, is reeling under an acute shortage of oxygen.
Along with Pune, Mumbai and Nagpur, Nashik has witnessed massive case spikes and COVID-19-related deaths in both waves of the pandemic. The district, which has been recording an average daily spike of 3,000 cases, has around 45,000 active cases at present, while its total death toll stands at 2,672.
(Manas Dasgupta)
