Odisha CM expresses grief on Gorakhpur tragedy

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday expressed his grief following the series of deaths of children at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh over the last few days.

“Shocked & saddened at tragic loss of lives of children in #GorakhpurTragedy. My thoughts & prayers with parents & families in hour of grief,” tweeted the Chief Minister.

Shocked & saddened at tragic loss of lives of children in #GorakhpurTragedy. My thoughts & prayers with parents & families in hour of grief

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 12, 2017

As many as 63 children, including many newborn babies, have died in the last five days at the government-run hospital here in Uttar Pradesh. There is, however, confusion over the reason for a large number of deaths with initial reports suggesting that the children had died because of the shortage of liquid oxygen and the state government denying such reports.