Sundargarh: Chaos prevailed after a prolonged power outage for almost a day in a key government hospital disrupted critical health services and even led to the alleged death of a patient in Bonai in Odisha's Sundargarh district. 

The patient, who was reportedly suffering from tuberculosis, was referred from a hospital in Gurundia to the SDH in a serious condition. However, he succumed during the hospital power outage. 

While hospital authorities claimed that he was declared dead on arrival, family members alleged that delayed medical attention, due to the power cut, took his life. 

As per reports, the sub-divisional hospital (SDH) in Bonai plunged into darkness after electricity went off on Wednesday afternoon at around 3.30 pm following torrential rainfall and lightning in parts of the district. The snapped wire from the grid, which led to the outage, not just  led to a communication breakdown but also endangered lives of patients needing critical care. 

In a video that went viral on social media, patients and medical staff were seen using mobile phone flashlight and candles as major wards of the hospital remained in dark. 

The generator, as per the hospital staff claims, had broken down and the electricitians took over five hours to come from Rourkela, further delaying power restoration. Only the drug distribution centres were seen lit as they had an inverter connection whereas the blackout paralysed ongoing treatments in other crucial areas of the hospital. 

Till reports last came in, power had still not been restored. Raising serious concerns over patients' safety and the importance of power outage resilience in hospitals, the incident has also brought the crumbling healthcare system in remote areas.