World Trending News: 60 children die in ONE WEEK at children's hospital in India as deaths blamed on lack of oxygen

Sixty children have died at a hospital in India in the
space of just one week, it has emerged.
Lack of oxygen supplies has been blamed for the
shocking number of fatalities at the hospital in the
northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The BRD Medical College specified that 34 were
babies who died at the neo-natal intensive care unit,
while 12 died because of encephalitis.
The rest died of other unspecified causes.
Local media reports have said some of the deaths
were caused due to an oxygen shortage after a
private supplier withdrew its equipment over unpaid
hospital dues.
BRD Medical Chief Medical Superintendent Dr R.S.
Shukla denied the deaths had been caused by a lack
of oxygen supplies when asked by Reuters.
The hospital, in a statement, said there had been a
"drop in pressure in the supply of liquid oxygen" on
Thursday, but added cylinders were procured from
various other suppliers.
It did not specify whether that had resulted in any
deaths.
The breakdown of the death toll provided by the
hospital showed a spike on Thursday, with 23
fatalities, including 14 babies at its neo-natal unit.
The Uttar Pradesh and federal governments are
investigating the matter, officials said. A tweet from
the Prime Minister's office said Narendra Modi was
constantly monitoring the situation.
The deaths have sparked a political firestorm as
opposition politicians sought to pin the blame on
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, which rules the state.
The hospital is located in Gorakhpur district, which is
represented by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi
Adityanath, who was appointed to head the state this
year.
"The current government is responsible for the deaths
of children in Gorakhpur due to the lack of oxygen.
Strict action should be taken," former Uttar Pradesh
chief minister Akhilesh Yadav tweeted.
State government officials in TV appearances
chastised opposition leaders for seeking to politicise
the issue.
Outbreaks of encephalitis are common every year in
India, claiming hundreds of lives, especially during the
monsoon season.
The disease is most often caused by contaminated
food or water, mosquito bites, or through breathing in
respiratory droplets from an infected person.
India spends about one percent of its GDP on public
health, among the lowest in the world.
Successive governments have faced criticism for not
reforming the overburdened public health system
which is still plagued with shortage of doctors and
dilapidated infrastructure.
Modi's government has in recent years increased
health spending and vowed to make healthcare more
affordable.
PROMOTED STORIES
60 children die in ONE
WEEK at children's
hospital in India as
deaths blamed on lack of
oxygen
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Schoolboy, 11, rushed to hospital 'after being
mauled by two Staffies that had been let off their
leads'
60 children have died (Image: Rex Features)
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Many passed away due to Encephalitis (Image: AFP)
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Lack of oxygen has been blamed (Image: AFP)
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A grieving father carries his dead child (Image:
Barcroft Media)
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Anxious families remain at their children's bedsides
(Image: AFP)
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A mother cradles her sick baby (Image: Barcroft
Media)
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Medical staff are working around the clock (Image:
AFP)
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A distraught relative cradles the body of a baby
(Image: AFP)
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The scandal has sparked a political firestorm (Image:
AFP)
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34 of the dead are babies (Image: AFP)
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Children are still undergoing treatment at the
hospital (Image: Rex Features)
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Grieving relatives at the hospital (Image: AFP)
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The deaths occurred within the space of one week
(Image: AFP)
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Families have been left shattered (Image: AFP)
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Relatives mourn a baby (Image: Barcroft Media)
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A doctor tends to a child with Encephalitis (Image:
AFP)
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Encephalitis has been blamed for a number of the
fatalities
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