SpiceJet airlifts 2,450 oxygen concentrators from Nanjing, Hong Kong

India is facing a severe shortage of medical oxygen

SpiceJet has airlifted 2,450 oxygen concentrators from Nanjing and Hong Kong, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday.

A B737 aircraft of the airline lifted oxygen concentrators from Hong Kong and landed at the Delhi airport at 5 am on Tuesday, while a SpiceXpress plane from Nanjing with the equipment will land here in the evening, according to the statement.

India is struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus infection as hospitals in several states are reeling under a severe shortage of drugs, equipment, oxygen and beds.

"SpiceXpress is using its wide-body aircraft to airlift oxygen concentrators from Nanjing which will land in Delhi this evening," the airline said.

SpiceJet has airlifted more than 6,850 oxygen concentrators from the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and China so far in the last two weeks, the statement said.

The concentrators arriving on Tuesday have been ordered by SpiceHealth and other organisations, it said.

SpiceHealth is a healthcare company owned by SpiceJet's promoters Ajay Singh and Avani Singh.

India's total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the 2-crore mark with over 50 lakh infections being added in just 15 days.

The total tally of coronavirus cases in the country mounted to 2,02,82,833 with 3,57,229 new infections being reported in a day, while the death toll increased to 2,22,408 with 3,449 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.