Oxygen shortage once more leads to 49 deaths in UP hospital

49 children died at the Dr Ram Mohan Lohia hospital in Farukhabad in Uttar Pradesh The probe confirmed deaths due to shortage of oxygen 30 children died in a state-run hospital in Gorakhpur on August 10-11 amid allegations of oxygen shortage

Forty-nine children died at the government-run Dr Ram Mohan Lohia hospital in Farukhabad allegedly due to lack of oxygen. Following this incident, an FIR has been lodged against the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Medical Superintendent, official sources said.

The 49 children died in the last one month and the FIR was registered last night by the city magistrate, the sources said.

After local channels reported the death of 49 children in the hospital, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's office took cognisance of the matter and directed District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar to conduct a probe.

The probe confirmed deaths due to shortage of oxygen, Kumar said. The FIR was registered against the COM and CMOS for their alleged laxity, he said.

City Magistrate, Jayendra Kumar Jain and SDM Ajit Kumar Singh said the probe found that deaths were due to lack of oxygen.

The death of children in the Farukhabad hospital comes after at least 30 children died in a state-run hospital in Gorakhpur on August 10-11 amid allegations of oxygen shortage. In the wake of the incident, Farukhabad DM, CMO, Chief Medical Superintendent of the district women hospital has been removed.

In Uttar Pradesh the situation is quite grim with hospitals reporting a total of 290 children to have died in the Baba Raghav Das Medical College in August alone, of whom 213 died in the neo-natal ICU and 77 in the encephalitis ward.