Gorakhpur tragedy: Yogi Adityanath to visit hospital today

At least 63 children, including newborns, have died in the five days in a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, due to alleged short supply of oxygen, media reports said.

Health Minister JP Nadda will also visit the hospital on Sunday.

At least 23 children died in the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College on Aug 10, the very day that the firm which used to provide oxygen to the facility stopped doing so owing to a payment dispute.

On Saturday, the UP CM considered encephalitis as the main reason behind the deaths.

Speaking about encephalitis, Adityanath had said: "I was the first one to take steps against encephalitis in Gorakhpur only."

However, he did not completely dismiss the shortage of oxygen supply as one of the reasons behind the death.

The CM had said people who will be found guilty must be punished. He even stated any death due to lack of oxygen supply is the worst incident that could have ever happened.

An inquiry has also been ordered by the UP Chief Minister on Saturday morning over the issue.

Chief Minister Adityanath had also urged the media to report the number of deaths correctly.

"Varied figures are coming out in different newspapers and channels. I urge them to state the correct number. We all sympathise with those children who had died" the CM had said.

Adityanath said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is worried at the whole situation of Gorakhpur. "The Prime Minister has said the India government will support Uttar Pradesh in every way to come out of the tragedy."