Deaths Mount at an Indian Hospital After Oxygen Runs Out

At least 10 people, and possibly as many as 24, died after a hospital ran out of an increasingly precious resource here: medical oxygen. It was the latest in a growing series of such accidents.

When the pipes carrying oxygen to critically ill Covid-19 patients stopped working at a hospital in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on Sunday evening, relatives of sick patients used towels to fan their loved ones in an attempt to save them. Some anguished family members sent desperate pleas for oxygen on social media. Others grabbed their phones and frantically dialed local politicians. A few even sprinted down the hospital’s hallways, desperately searching for a doctor, a nurse, anyone, to help. But nothing worked. There was no oxygen left.