Chandigarh: Three patients admitted in the trauma ward of the civil hospital in Jalandhar and who were on ventilator support, died after the oxygen supply got disrupted due to alleged ``technical fault'' in the oxygen plant Sunday night.
According to information, the deceased included a snakebite victim, a youth who had taken an overdose of drugs and a tuberculosis patient.
The incident which took place around 8 pm on Sunday, triggered panic in the district administration, prompting an inquiry into the incident. The administration has set up a nine-member committee which will give its report by Tuesday.
Punjab health minister Balbir Singh who also visited the hospital following the incident said that these patients were in the ICU and in critical situations. The oxygen supply was cut off but was switched back immediately during when there was a brief pressure drop when the incident happened, he said and held that the deaths happened one after the other.
While one patient had multiple organ failure, other had consolidation in lungs while the third was a drug addict, the minister said, according to media reports.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that there were five patients on ventilator support in the trauma centre three of whom had died.
