At least 22 patients died on Wednesday in a hospital in western India after a disruption to their oxygen supply caused by a leaking tank, the health minister said.
The incident in the city of Nashik, one of India's worst-hit areas, happened after the tank of gas leaked, said Rajesh Tope, the health minister of Maharashtra state, where the city is located.
"Patients who were on ventilators at the hospital in Nashik died," Mr Tope said.
"The leakage was spotted at the tank supplying oxygen to these patients. The interrupted supply could be linked to the deaths of the patients in the hospital."
The world's second most populous nation reported 295,041 new infections on Wednesday – the world's highest daily increase – stretching its hospitals to breaking point, officials said.
Only the United States had a slightly higher one-day rise of 297,430 cases in January, although its tally has since fallen sharply.
India's 2,023 deaths were also its highest in the pandemic.
On Tuesday, hospitals in Delhi, the capital, said they had enough oxygen left for just another eight to 24 hours, while some private institutions had enough for only four or five.
The situation was so severe that some people had tried to loot an oxygen tanker, forcing authorities to beef up security, said the health minister of the neighbouring state of Haryana.
"From now, I've ordered police protection for all tankers," Anil Vij told Reuters partner ANI.
Television showed images of people with empty oxygen cylinders crowding refilling facilities as they scrambled to save stricken relatives in hospital.
"We were completely blocked out of supplies yesterday but by the end of the day we received some and it is helping us today," said Charu Sachdeva, an official at the state-run Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre in the capital.
In the northern city of Lucknow, one man said a hospital had asked him to arrange oxygen supplies for his uncle or take him away because it had run out.
Delhi, a city of 20 million people, recorded 28,395 new cases and 277 deaths on Tuesday, its highest tally since the pandemic began. Every third person tested for coronavirus proved positive.
About 80 of 142 hospitals in Delhi had no beds left for virus patients, government figures showed.
New Delhi businessman Saurabh Mittal said he called a hospital shown in a government database to have beds free, only to be told they were full and could not take anyone.
"I told them there is online availability but they said the real-time data showed no beds," said Mr Mittal, who had been trying to arrange treatment for a virus sufferer.
India faces a coronavirus storm overwhelming its health system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a national address overnight. He said authorities were working with states and private companies to deliver oxygen with "speed and sensitivity".
Delhi, like large parts of India, let its guard down when the virus seemed to be under control, allowing big gatherings such as weddings and festivals as daily infections fell below 1,000 during the winter, health experts said.
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- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
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- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
