New Delhi: In a major development, raids were conducted at the Lucknow-based firm, which used to supply oxygen cylinders to Gorakhpur's Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital, where 63 children lost their lives due to encephalitis, claims report of a leading news channel. Nearly, thirty children lost their lives in the past 48 hours reportedly due to infections and disruption of oxygen supply in the paediatrics ward in the hospital, although the district administration have rejected that latter as a reason for deaths. Siddharth Nath Singh, the states's health minister, said "those behind any kind of laxity will not be spared" but denied the children had died after being deprived of oxygen, according to the Times of India. These were immediately connected by the central pipeline operator.”

“On August 11, at 8.30 am, again cylinders came from IGL Faizabad, and were used,” the statement said. However, a statement released by the hospital on Saturday showed only five of the 30 children who died on August 10 and August 11 were suffering from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome, which causes high fever and brain inflammation. Government officials were scurrying to explain what had happened, admitting that the state-run hospital owed more than $50,000 to a supplier of liquid oxygen and that oxygen supplies had been “disrupted.”

“There was some payment issue to the oxygen supplier, and there was a shortage of liquid oxygen,” said Anil Kumar, the commissioner of the city of Gorakhpur.
Over the past two days, 30 children from Baba Raghav Das Medical College have died, allegedly due to lack of oxygen supply to the wards.