At least 22 Covid patients died after an oxygen tanker leaked at a hospital in Nashik on Wednesday. Oxygen supply to the Zakir Hussain Hospital was cut off after the tank’s cork malfunctioned leading to a reduction in pressure. Besides the dead, there were 158 patients receiving Covid treatment at the hospital. Confirming the deaths, district collector Suraj Mandhare said most of the patients who died were “critically ill”. The supply has now been restored, Mandhare said. Expressing his shock over the incident, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has ordered a high-level probe into the entire incident and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kins of the deceased.
