Nashik (Maharashtra),  In a horrific incident, at least 22 Covid-19 patients on ventilator support died at a Nashik public hospital after an abrupt drop in pressure due to leakage in oxygen supplies, and two others succumbed later, officials said.

The tragedy occurred at the Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital run by the BJP-controlled Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), which is among the biggest civic bodies, and in one of the worst Covid-19 hotspots in the state.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and other senior Central and state leaders cutting across political lines expressed their grief over the tragedy that occurred on the day of Ram Navami.

Visiting the tragedy-hit hospital this evening, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that according to NMC officials and experts, there were certain technical glitches while oxygen was being transferred from a tank which caused a sudden variation in the pressure of the oxygen being administered in the Covid-19 ward, and 24 patients on ventilator beds died gasping for breath within minutes.

"However, the NMC authorities handled the crisis very efficiently and helped prevent a bigger tragedy. They managed to save a part of the oxygen, which is stored at below minus 180 degrees Celsius," said Tope.

People were left speechless as visuals of the tragedy were posted on social media with the invisible gas stored in the tank under extremely cold minus-temperatures suddenly gushing out in snow-white, hissing clouds, with workers and others running around in panic. Some technicians were seen struggling with the controls to curb the deadly outflow.

At that time, around 150 patients were undergoing treatment on oxygen or ventilator beds but when the oxygen pressure plummeted without warning, the hospital staffers were seen running helter-skelter to save their lives by shifting them to other wards or nearby hospitals.

"It's a very serious incident... coming due to a drop in pressure of the oxygen being administered to the patients," Tope said of the tragedy, which happened as the state struggles to beef up its oxygen supplies.

Shaken by the sudden loss of their near and dear ones, wailing relatives slammed the NMC authorities, demanding to know who would take responsibility for the tragedy.

NMC Municipal Commissioner Kailash Jadhav termed it as "a very sad tragedy", ordered a probe into the incident and assured action against all found guilty of lapses.

He said that owing to the leak, the oxygen supply was stopped for around half-an-hour, which culminated in the disaster that claimd 24 Covid patients.

Nashik Collector Suraj Mandhare attributed the deaths to the pressure drop in the oxygen tank, which is managed and maintained by a private company.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that he was stunned to learn of the tragedy, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appealed to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and his party workers to extend all assistance to the victims' families.

CM Thackeray said that "the state is numbed" by the sheer calamity in the midst of the Corona war being waged by the state and announced a total compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of each deceased.

Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar condoled the tragedy and assured a high-level investigation, with condolences also coming from Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray and other ministers. The Leader of Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis, described the incident as "terrible and disturbing".

Hitting out at the BJP, Congress state spokesperson Sachin Sawant said: "The hospital is managed by the NMC which is under the BJP. The BJP must take responsibility. Where are the party's Mayor and 3 MLAs."

Besides Tope, state ministers Balasaheb Thorat, Rajendra Shingane, Chhagan Bhujbal and other senior leaders rushed to Nashik for a spot assessment of the situation.

BJP's Leader of Opposition in Council, Pravin Darekar, however, attacked the MVA government and demanded lodging of cases under culpable homicide against NMC Commissioner Jadhav, accusing him of being "solely responsible" for the incident.

The Nashik incident has become the worst Covid-related tragedy in the past 13 months of the pandemic, days after a mega-fire killed 11 persons at a Mumbai hospital on March 26.