This story is from May 3, 2021

Karnataka: 24 Covid patients die at Chamarajnagar hospital due to oxygen shortage

The oxygen crisis took a heavy toll when 24 Covid patients died in Chamarajnagar, 175km away from Bengaluru, after the government district hospital ran out of oxygen supply on Sunday midnight.
Karnataka: Disaster strikes as 24 Covid patients die at govt hospital due to oxygen shortage
Victims' kin outside the hospital in Chamarajnagar. (ANI photo)
BENGALURU: The oxygen crisis took a heavy toll when 24 Covid patients died in Chamarajnagar, 175km away from Bengaluru, after the government district hospital ran out of oxygen supply on Sunday midnight.
The Yediyurappa government has convened an emergency meeting to probe what led to the terrible tragedy, where patients died on their hospital beds after the oxygen supplies to them ended at around 11.45pm.

Victims' kin

Preliminary investigations revealed that the oxygen supply to the district hospital had not reached in time from Mysuru, where the oxygen distribution network had been established.
"Died or Killed? My heartfelt condolences to their families. How much more suffering before the ‘system’ wakes up?'" tweeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Chamarajnagar deputy commissioner Dr M R Ravi said the 24 people had died from Sunday morning to Monday morning.
“We cannot say that all have died because of oxygen shortage. As per doctors’ report, 12 have died due to lack of oxygen while the others have succumbed to various comorbidities and underlying medical conditions.”

District in-charge minister S Suresh Kumar said, "We have sought a death audit report and it is expected this afternoon, we will initiate action against those responsible for the deaths. In most cases, the patients have come at the last minute. We did not get the required oxygen supply on time from Mysuru."
"An alert was sounded on Sunday evening to the district administration about the imminent danger when we realised that the hospital would soon run out of oxygen, but nothing was done to augment supplies on time," hospital staff said.
The incident has sent shock waves in the district with the family members of the dead patients blaming the state government for the failure to save lives.
“My husband called me around 11.45pm and told me that he was struggling, he said he was finding it too difficult to breathe and cannot continue,” said a dead patient’s wife, who is a staff nurse.
“I realised the gravity of the situation and immediately made a video call to see him and was assuring him when someone snatched the phone from him. We immediately rushed to the hospital but were not allowed inside citing Covid protocols. By 6am today the hospital staff told me that he is dead,” she said.
The woman said she had got married two months ago and her husband was shifted to the hospital following breathlessness.
“Had they allowed me inside, I would have done something to save him, but he has been killed,” she added.
Another person who lost his mother said: “We admitted her last night, but she has gone now. This was not expected from the government. Let them give her body, they are not doing that too."
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