Kuwait sends emergency supplies of liquid oxygen to India as COVID-19 cases surge

Workers are seen sorting oxygen cylinders that are being used for Covid-19 coronavirus patients before dispatching them to hospitals at a facility on the outskirts of Amritsar on April 28, 2021. (File/AFP)

• PAI coordinated with the foreign ministry to follow the scheduled plan of delivering the shipment to India
• A plan has been set to ensure the transport of a large amount of liquid oxygen to the country in the quickest possible ways

DUBAI: Kuwait has sent 210 tons of rescue oxygen and 2,100 oxygen gas cylinders to India, state news agency KUNA reported.
A plan has been set to ensure the transport of a large amount of liquid oxygen to the country in the quickest possible ways, the Public Authority of Industry (PAI) told KUNA.
PAI coordinated with the foreign ministry to follow the scheduled plan of delivering the shipment to India.
It further worked with factories in Kuwait that are producing liquid oxygen, in a bid to meet the high demands.
The entity also cooperated with Kuwait Ports Authority and Kuwait’s general administration of customs to facilitate the humanitarian mission.
Earlier in April, India received about 80 metric tons of oxygen from Saudi Arabia to help alleviate a critical shortage of the emergency gas.
Images of the first consignment of cryogenic tanks and medical-grade oxygen cylinders destined for India prompted an outpouring of gratitude and relief on Indian social media.
India’s overall COVID-19 cases have reached 24.97 million with 274,390 deaths, the country’s health ministry confirmed.
The country regularly sets new daily records for new infections and deaths as the virus crisis engulfs overstretched hospitals in cities and spreads into rural regions.