Man dies for lack of oxygen supply

A 42-year-old man, who was rushed to a state-run hospital here with severe infection in his food pipe, died due to lack of oxygen cylinders at the medical facility.
An official said the victim, Mangal Singh, was admitted to the hospital on Monday over complaint of breathlessness, and that he was immediately operated upon.
The family members of the victim, however, alleged that Mangal continued to feel uneasy after the operation. The doctor then told them that the patient required oxygen.
They said by the time the oxygen cylinder arrived, Mangal had breathed his last.
Following the orders of the Punjab government, Tejbir Singh, principal of the medical college, conducted an inquiry into the incident, the official said.

"The patient was opearated upon on Monday. The patient was thereafter given oxygen. But at around 6.30 pm on Tuesday, the oxygen cylinder was found empty, whereupon the hospital staff asked the local supplier to deliver the same. But the supplier denied to do so over pending bills," the official said.
The patient died at around 7.00 pm on Tuesday, he added.