Hospital Oxygen Supply Disruption Kills Three Patients In Mombasa
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir has ordered an immediate investigation into Coast General Hospital after three patients allegedly died due to oxygen disturbances at the institution.
According to NTV, the hospital scheduled repairs on its oxygen plant.
As a result, when the system was turned off, three patients who were connected to it died.
The victims’ families claimed that the hospital neglected to provide backup oxygen during maintenance, which resulted in their deaths.
Deadly Oxygen Supply Failure:
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) April 3, 2025
Three families in Mombasa are grieving the deaths of their loved ones at the Coast General Referral and Teaching Hospital.
The deaths allegedly occurred after failure in oxygen supply in several wards.#NTVTonight @Ben_Kitili pic.twitter.com/7i32pIlZU2
“My dad took almost 20 minutes while he gasped for air, looking for oxygen,” Joel Mutua Kimanzi, a son of one of the victims, narrated.
“The nurses present were just running around but did nothing. We kept asking for the backup cylinders, but there were none—until he died while we watched helplessly.”
In response to the reports, the governor paid a visit to one of the family members who had lost their father and ordered that an investigation be begun, with anybody found accountable facing the law.
“We must launch a proper investigation, and we will ensure that if there is any staff who needs to be held responsible, they must be held responsible. There are no two ways to this,” the governor directed.
While empathizing with the families, the governor stated that he would not rush to judgment and instead requested a postmortem on the deceased.
I have met with the families affected by the tragic incident at Coast General and assured them of our full support. Their loss is our collective grief.
— Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir (@A_S_Nassir) April 4, 2025
We are taking swift action to strengthen safety at our hospitals and have launched a full investigation.
On the Pwani Road… pic.twitter.com/10FeJ3JeAZ
“We have discussed and agreed that there will be a postmortem done by a pathologist trusted by the family,” the governor revealed.
“The hospital will also give me a report from its pathologist, and compare it to another report from the power sector to find out what happened and what caused the deaths.”
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According to the impacted families, despite the stress and uncertainty caused by the disturbance, there was no backup oxygen available.
The families are now demanding justice for their relatives and compensation for what occurred.
“We have been paying a lot of money, and we have been providing everything the doctors asked for immediately. We need justice and compensation,” another victim demanded.
The hospital has not yet issued a public statement on the incident.
Hospital Oxygen Supply Disruption Kills Three Patients In Mombasa
