The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday admitted that the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur had faced an interruption in supply of oxygen on the night of August 10 but maintained that no deaths of children were caused by it or took place in the period when the oxygen supply was low.
U.P. Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh, who took stock of the situation, said the “conclusion is that the children did not die due to interruption of gas supply”.
Sixty deaths have been reported in the children’s department of the hospital from August 7 to 11, with 30 on August 10 and 11, as per the hospital, which said the deaths took place due to various illnesses. Of the 60, 12 died of acute encephalitis syndrome, said the 950-bed hospital that caters to patients. Six more deaths were reported in the hospital on Sunday.
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Mr. Singh said the liquid oxygen system at the hospital faced a low-pressure situation at around 7.30 p.m. on August 10, after which gas cylinders were immediately added.