Reports say the incident occurred on Wednesday, April 21, while an oxygen tanker was refilling a storage tank at the Zakir Hussain hospital in Nashik city.

Nashik district collector, Suraj Mandhare is reported as saying that the supply was interrupted after a leakage in one of the storage tankers at Dr. Zakir Hussain Municipal Hospital.

It is further reported that the patients were on ventilators and needed constant oxygen supply before the leakage occurred.  

The incident was captured in a video that shows the oxygen leaking from the tanker outside the hospital with white fumes covering the entire area.

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According to reports, 157 patients were undergoing treatment at the Covid-19 hospital in Nashik at the time of the incident.

Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope who confirmed the unfortunate incident said: “Of these 157 patients, 61 were critical with some of them on ventilator and oxygen support.

“Among the 22 who lost their lives, 11 are men and 11 women. 

"As per the information available with us, patients who were on ventilators at the hospital in Nashik have died. The leakage was spotted at the oxygen tank which was supplying oxygen to these patients. The interrupted supply could be linked to the deaths of the patients in the hospital," Mr. Tope said.

"We will issue a statement later after the investigation is over," he added.