 Location of Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh | |
| Time | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Location | BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Coordinates | 26°48′44″N 83°24′3″E / 26.81222°N 83.40083°E |
| Deaths | 1,317 (as of September 2017) |
Many child deaths occurred at the state-run BRD Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur city of Uttar Pradesh, India in 2017. As of 2 September 2017, 1,317 children had died at the hospital in 2017. The 2017 deaths attracted national attention in August, when 63 children died at the hospital after the hospital's piped oxygen supply ran out.[1] The number of child deaths in previous years were 5,850 in 2014; 6,917 in 2015; and 6,121 in 2016.[2]
Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) was a major cause of the deaths: As of 29 August 2017, 175 children had died because of encephalitis (including 77 in August alone).[3]
Government negligence arising from the shortage of oxygen supply was discovered to have been a major cause for avoidable deaths. The oxygen supply was cut by the supplier due to long non-payment of dues. The Yogi Adityanath led government had ignored repeated requests for clearing the dues despite warning about supply being cut, and faced heavy criticism. One year after the incident, the families of the victims had not been compensated or visited by state government officials.[1][4]
- ^ a b "Gorakhpur Deaths: Adityanath Government Ignored SOS on Oxygen Payments for Months". The Wire. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ToI_drop_2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "36 children die in last 48 hours at Gorakhpur's BRD medical college". DNA. 29 August 2017.
- ^ Singh, Manoj (1 December 2017). "Stifling the Truth : The government and media's cover-up after the Gorakhpur tragedy". The Caravan. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2019.