Coronavirus outbreak: All five Bhopal gas tragedy victims die of COVID-19

Bhopal, Apr 15: In what comes to a serious turn of events, all the five persons, who recently died due to the novel coronavirus in Bhopal were the victims of the 1984 gas tragedy in the Madhya Pradesh.

According to reports, organisations that are working for the survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy claimed that such people are more vulnerable to the coronavirus infection than normal individuals.

"All the five persons who died after contracting COVID-19 here were victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy," the official said.

Speaking to reporters, an official said that the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center (BMHRC), a dedicated facility for the treatment of gas mishap survivors, was recently turned into a medical facility for coronavirus patients.

It is allegedly said that the first coronavirus victim from Bhopal, a 55-year- old man, died at the hospital on April 5 due to negligence of authorities.

Also, an 80-year-old gas tragedy victim, who was the former employee of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), died on April 8. The victim's test results turned out to be positive for coronavirus on April 11.

Another a 40-year-old gas tragedy victim, who was also suffering from oral cancer, died on April 12 and his test report later claimed to be positive for coronavirus.

It can be seen that the state government took over BMHRC and turned it into a medical facility for COVID-19 patients instead of paying more attention to the people.