25 die in Delhi hospital due to oxygen shortage

As many as 25 patients have died at a leading hospital in the Indian capital in the past 24 hours due to "low pressure oxygen".

The deaths were announced by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Friday morning, soon after it sent an SOS to the Indian government flagging acute shortage of oxygen at the national capital's premier medical facility.

"25 sickest patients have died in last 24 hours. Oxygen will last another two hours. Ventilators and BiPAP (ventilators for invasive treatment) not working effectively. Resorting to manual ventilation in ICUs and Emergency" the hospital authorities said in a statement.

"Major crisis likely. Lives of another 60 sickest patients at risk, need urgent intervention," the statement added.

A top hospital official attributed the deaths to low pressure oxygen. "Low oxygen concentration likely contributed to deaths of critical patients. Critical patients need high pressure, stable oxygen supply," Satendra Katoch, the medical director, told the media.

Some 500 Covid patients are currently being treated at Ganga Ram. Of them, as many as 142 are on life support, according to the hospital.

On Wednesday also, 24 Covid-19 patients on ventilator at a government hospital in the western Indian state of Maharashtra died after their oxygen supply ran out following leakage of the life-supporting gas from a tanker.

The tanker was brought to Zakir Hussain Municipal Hospital in the state's Nashik district to replenish the oxygen cylinders at the medical facility for continuous supply to the 150-plus Covid-19 patients on life support.

Several hospitals in India, particularly Delhi, are currently facing an acute shortage of the life-saving gas as the country witnessses a ferocious second wave of Covid.

"Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi. I again urge the Centre (federal government) to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi. Some hospitals are left with just a few hours of oxygen," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted on Tuesday.