PPE kits ‘kill’ victim’s kin in Jammu

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 18

Two nephews of a 65-year-old coronavirus victim, who died at Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu late last night, lost their lives on Thursday when they had gone to perform the last rites of the deceased in the Tawi in the Sidhra area of Jammu district.

Doctors said the exact cause of the deaths was not yet known. The families of the deceased, however, claimed that the duo died due to “dehydration” in the PPE kit amid soaring mercury as the day’s temperature was around 42 degrees Celsius in Jammu.

The deceased were aged between 40 and 35. They collapsed in the Tawi bed even before the cremation. Two relatives, who had also gone to the Tawi in their vehicle, shifted the son of the Covid victim to hospital after he also fell unconscious. He is stated to be stable.

They accused the administration of refusing to accede to their request for the last rites of the body at the Shakti Nagar crematorium and it all happened as the administration had not identified a proper place for the last rites that caused the delay, resulting in the “dehydration” of the two persons in the PPE kits amid the scorching sun.

The district administration has, meanwhile, ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and asked the Additional District Magistrate (Law and Order) to conduct an inquiry and submit his report with “conclusive findings” by June 22.

“Two persons accompanying the body (Covid-related death) became unconscious and subsequently passed away under mysterious circumstances. It is imperative to probe the circumstances leading to the unfortunate death of the two persons by ordering a magisterial inquiry,” Jammu District Magistrate Sushma Chauhan said in an order.

The Additional District Magistrate has been asked to constitute a board of doctors to conduct the autopsy of the bodies. “The Covid test would also be conducted of both bodies as well,” the order said.

What was more distressing was that the ambulance carrying the body of the Covid-19 victim remained stuck in sand in the Tawi bed, while the drivers of two more ambulances, requisitioned by the authorities, also faced a tough time to shift the unconscious persons to hospital.

“One of the relatives of the Covid-19 victim was brought dead to the hospital. The body of the second person was brought to the hospital late in the evening. It is not clear where the second person remained lying unattended in the Tawi bed for the last seven hours,” a senior doctor told The Tribune.

The hospital administration said four relatives had come for the cremation. “The hospital administration provided them PPE kits, ambulance driver and staff for the last rites. It is not clear as to what happened at the cremation site”, the doctor said.

According to the relatives, three persons, including the son of the deceased and his two cousins, were asked to wear the PPE kits before shifting the body to the Sidhra area for cremation around 11 am.

“No proper place was identified for cremation. We were kept moving in the river bed amid scorching heat. Around 1.30 pm, all three persons in the PPE kits started falling unconscious. We raised an alarm for help, but none of the policemen and officials of the administration came forward to help them or offered water to revive them,” Anil Chopra, one of the relatives alleged.

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