Image showing a rush of people. For representational purposes.
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Shahjahanpur: One patient reportedly died and several others were injured as leakage of gas from the oxygen plant at the Government Medical College Hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur town triggered panic among the patients, leading to a stampede-like situation on Sunday.
District officials, however, denied any death in the incident and claimed that the patient who had died had been brought to the hospital in a critical condition and died from medical complications.
Sources said that the patients started fleeing the ward after experiencing breathing difficulties, which led to the stampede-like situation.
District officials said that the situation was quickly brought under control and that normalcy had returned. Videos appearing on social media showed patients lying in the galleries of the hospital.
Eyewitnesses said that many patients fell on the ground after being knocked down by others, who were desperate to leave the premises after the leakage.
Police teams, which reached the spot, cordoned off the entire area and many patients were evacuated from the premises.
Preliminary investigations suggested that the leakage might have been caused by a malfunctioning at the plant, though some reports said that the leakage was caused by formalin fumes.
A probe has been ordered into the incident, sources said.