60 Children Die in India

• 08.12.2017, 22:24
•  Other,  World

AFP

At least 60 children have died at a public hospital in northern India, officials say, amid allegations that the oxygen supply was cut over unpaid bills, BBC reports.

Officials in Uttar Pradesh state admitted the supply had been disrupted but said this did not cause the deaths.

There was panic at the hospital with relatives trying to support staff using manual breathing bags, local media say.

Most victims were at the neonatal unit or being treated for encephalitis.

The deaths occurred over a five-day period from Monday at the Baba Raghav Das hospital in Gorakhpur district. Thirty of the deaths were recorded between Thursday and Friday alone, the hospital said.

District official Anil Kumar recognized there was a "payment issue" with the supplier, but said the deaths could have been caused by "natural" causes as many patients were admitted in a "serious" condition.