Oxygen tank leaks at Nashik's Zakir Hussain Hospital; 22 patients die

At least 22 patients who were on ventilators at a hospital in Nashik have died, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday, adding oxygen leakage at a storage tank could be linked to these fatalities and promised a probe.

These patients were being treated at a hospital run by the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) for the Covid-19 patients.

"As per the information available with us, 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," Tope told reporters.

He said the Maharashtra government will look into the matter and conduct a thorough probe.

"We will issue a statement later after the investigation is over," Tope added.

A video of oxygen purportedly leaking from the storage plant has gone viral on social media since this morning.

Some relatives of the deceased COVID-19 patients have alleged that the "lowered supply of oxygen" claimed the lives of their kin.