Oxygen pipeline explodes twice: Noida hospital sealed, license suspended

Noida: Panic erupted at a private hospital in Sector 66, Noida, on Sunday afternoon after an oxygen pipeline exploded twice within 15 hours, reportedly due to a short circuit near the intensive care unit (ICU). Eight ICU patients narrowly escaped, and no casualties were reported, officials said.

The incident took place around noon on Sunday at Mark Hospital in Sector 66, Noida. Following the second blast, all patients were shifted to other hospitals, officials said.

According to the PTI report, the first explosion took place around noon on Sunday due to a short circuit near the intensive care unit (ICU) on the ground floor of the 49-bed facility located in the Phase 3 area, they added.

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After the second blast, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Narendra Kumar, Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) Dr Chandan Soni, Health Department Advisor Shweta Khurana, and other officials reached the spot.

DCMO Soni said the hospital was sealed and its licence has been suspended due to negligence of the hospital management.

Speaking to HT, the hospital director said that the staff was immediately directed to turn off the Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) of the ICU, and the fault was repaired within an hour, after which emergency services were resumed.

“A short circuit occurred inside the false ceiling, which heated up the adjacent oxygen pipe, causing a minor high-pressure leakage. We immediately shifted the eight patients admitted in the ICU to another ward in the hospital and used portable oxygen cylinders to continue the supply of oxygen to the patients. No casualties or any other issues were reported,” said Anuj Tripathi, adding, “We extinguished the short circuit using a fire extinguisher. As a precautionary measure, the fire department was alerted to check, after which the fault was repaired and services in the emergency ward resumed.”

Several patients were transferred to nearby Kailash Hospital and Om Hospital, officials said, adding that a patient remains admitted to the ICU, while two others have been referred to Delhi.

According to officials, information about the remaining patients is being collected.

A joint committee has been formed to investigate the incident, he said.

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