nA leak in an oxygen cylinder on Wednesday forced the evacuation of patients from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a government hospital in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district following which one patient died, officials said.
Health officials said the death was not caused due to lack of oxygen.
There were seven patients in the ICU of Rajnandgaon Medical College Hospital when the incident took place, said Dr Ajay Kosam, the Superintendent in charge.
When an oxygen cylinder in the ICU was being replaced around 1.30 am, its flow meter broke, resulting in the gas leakage, he said.
The staff shifted all seven patients to another ward and fire extinguishers were sprayed to prevent a fire, Dr Kosam said.
One of the patients, Mohan Singh (65), who was in serious condition, died later, he said, while ruling out any oxygen-related complications as the cause.
Another official said Singh, from neighbouring Balod district, apparently died due to discharge of fluids from the abdomen into the lungs and not due to anything related to the gas leak.
Health Department Commissioner C.R. Prasanna said a detailed report was awaited.