Oxygen shortage | Ruia tragedy attributed to stress on medical infrastructure

The brief disruption in the flow of oxygen from the tanker was said to have caused the incident

The unfortunate incident in which eleven patients lost their lives due to disruption in oxygen supply at Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia hospital on Monday night is primarily attributed to the heavy stress on medical infrastructure. The sudden rush of patients requiring oxygen, especially over the last four days, had a cumulative effect. The brief disruption in the flow of oxygen from the tanker was said to have caused the incident. Though another tanker from a plant in Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu) was scheduled to arrive at 5 p.m., it reached by 8.30 p.m.. As the pressure from the ‘near empty’ tanker had come down by then, the authorities rushed in to provide oxygen from bulk cylinders. The delay of five minutes involved for the replacement, though unofficially pegged at 25 minutes by the relatives of the victims, wreaked havoc and caused the disaster.