India's Covid crisis: NI donate oxygen generators to India Covid fight

Three oxygen generators capable of producing 500 litres of oxygen a minute are being sent to India from Northern Ireland.

They are among eight oxygen units built as back ups for local hospitals at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The donation will form part of a wider UK consignment of aid being sent to India which is struggling to cope with a ferocious second surge.

The country's official death toll has surpassed 200,000.

However, experts believe the actual number may be higher.

Stormont Health Minister Robin Swann described the scenes coming from India as "terrifying and worrying".

He said: "One of these units is able to produce 500 litres of oxygen a minute.

"To put that into perspective our Mater Hospital uses 200 litres a minute. So a stand-alone unit is able to supply a hospital twice the size of our Mater Hospital."

Mr Swann said the offer was a "significant contribution" to the international response.

"This is more than PPE (personal protective equipment). This is more than facemasks and gowns," he said.

"This is actually a real, tangible resource that can go into the hospitals in India; hospitals that are crying out for oxygen."

Meanwhile, four other oxygen generators have been installed at hospital sites across Northern Ireland and one has been retained as a reserve.

Mr Swann added: "I hope we never get to the position where we have to actually deploy these but it makes sense still to have."

On Monday, the Irish government announced that the Republic of Ireland would be sending 700 oxygen concentrators to India.

The devices are used to draw oxygen from the air and deliver it to patients at more than 90% concentration.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the machines "will support frontline healthcare workers in India to deliver care to patients who need it".