LIVING NIGHTMARE: Inside India’s horrendous Covid crisis where victims lay dying in streets as families hunt for black market oxygen

Mirror

People infected with coronavirus are dying in the streets, bodies are piling up at crematoriums and hospitals are running out of oxygen and beds as India’s crisis spirals out of control.

There is a frantic hunt for oxygen, which is being sold on the black market, to keep seriously ill relatives alive, and people hoarding supplies have sparked panic and shortages in hospitals.

Grim stories have emerged as the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreak worsened on Monday, with infections hitting a world record peak (352,991) for the fifth day in a row and deaths reaching an all-time high of more than 2,800.

India has reported almost three million active cases. However, the true figures are thought to be much higher, with modelling suggesting that as many as 15,000 people are dying every day.

With a population of 1.3 billion, the country has a tally of 17.31 million infections and 195,123 deaths since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

The UK, Germany and the US are sending urgent medical aid – including oxygen and ventilators – to battle a devastating second wave that has spiralled out of control this month.