The theft of an oxygen supply pipe at the state-run Rajgarh district hospital in Madhya Pradesh left 12 newborns in discomfort with breathing difficulties, officials said on Wednesday.
The theft of the 10 to 15 feet long copper pipe by unidentified persons on Tuesday late at night disrupted the oxygen supply to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), triggering panic as newborns started crying due to breathing difficulty, officials said.
As the inbuilt alarm system in the NICU started beeping, medical staff scrambled to restore the oxygen supply. An official said they managed the potentially threatening situation by swiftly attaching a backup jumbo oxygen cylinder to the system.
