Malatya oxygen trial: 13 defendants face charges over 8 deaths

Thirteen suspects are standing trial at Malatya 5th Heavy Penal Court over an oxygen system failure at Malatya Training and Research Hospital.

The incident occurred on 17 August 2020 during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the hospital’s two central oxygen tanks had emptied on 13 August, and the second ran out around 04:00 on 17 August.

“The prosecutor’s office emphasized that failure to monitor the oxygen supply chain, failure to carry out technical checks on time, and failure to operate administrative control mechanisms created a chain of negligence.”

For roughly seven to eight hours, intensive-care units did not receive sufficient oxygen after pressure in the central system dropped.

Technical expert reports determined that the problem was not a mechanical fault or gas leak in the pipes, but the complete depletion of liquid oxygen in the tanks.

A Forensic Medicine Institution report established a direct causal link between the pressure drop and the deaths of eight patients.

Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences for the defendants on charges of “causing the deaths of more than one person by negligence.” The defendants include the former chief physician, hospital administrators, company engineers, and technical and administrative staff.

The trial is continuing, with defendants denying the allegations of negligence and presenting their defenses.