Covid 19 coronavirus: Oxygen supply disruption kills 22 Covid-19 patients in India

A woman cries after her husband died of a leakage in the oxygen plant of a hospital in Nashik, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Photo / AP

Twenty-two Covid-19 patients on ventilators died in a hospital in western India on Wednesday (local time) when their oxygen supply was interrupted by a leak in a supply line, officials said.

Suraj Mandhar, the district collector, said the supply of oxygen has since resumed to other patients.

Fire officer Sanjay Bairagi said the leak was halted by the fire service within 15 minutes, but there was supply disruption in the Zakir Hussain Hospital in Nashik, a city in Maharashtra state that is the worst hit by the latest surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

Television images showed white fumes spreading in the hospital area, causing panic.

A hospital doctor helps fix the leakage in their oxygen plant at the Zakir Hussain Hospital in Maharashtra, India. Photo / AP

Surinder Sonone, a police officer, said the leak occurred in a pipe connecting the oxygen supply to the main tank in the hospital complex.

Five of the 140 Covid-19 patients were shifted to another hospital, he said.

The state government ordered an investigation of the leak, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.

Hospital staff fix a leakage in their oxygen plant in Nashik, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Photo / AP

India has reported a new record 295,041 coronavirus cases, as the daily death toll crossed 2000 for the first time.

Even with hospitals struggling, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised state governments against imposing a harsh lockdown in favour of micro-containment zones as he sought to avoid another economic slump.

Patients use oxygen cylinders in hospital after a leakage in the oxygen plant at Zakir Hussain Hospital in Nashik, India. Photo / AP

The surge in India has exacerbated the slowdown in global vaccination campaigns. India is a major vaccine producer but was forced it to delay deliveries of shots to focus on its domestic demand. So far, India has administered more than 130 million doses of vaccines in a nation of nearly 1.4 billion since mid-January.

Hospital staff check oxygen cylinders after a leakage in a oxygen plant which has caused fatalities among Covid-19 patients. Photo / AP

Overall, India has reported more than 15.6 million confirmed cases, the second highest behind the United States. The number of deaths stood at 182,553.