India's death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 200,000 as a virus surge sweeps the country, rooted in so-called super-spreader events that were allowed to happen in the months after India thought it had the pandemic under control.
Now India is enduring its darkest chapter yet, with mass funeral pyres, burials and a collapse of the health system compounded by shortages of oxygen, ventilators, and hospital beds.
Fueling the catastrophe were a series of crowded events, like mass rallies by politicians such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, religious holidays and pilgrimages on the River Ganges, where people relaxed their vigilance and didn't wear masks or keep their social distance.
The health ministry on Wednesday reported 3,293 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing India's total fatalities to 201,187. The deaths and the confirmed cases of 17.9 million are thought to be undercounts.
Now the surge is sending its health system toward collapse. Hospitalisations and deaths have reached record highs. Patients are suffocating because hospitals are using up their oxygen supplies. Fires at overwhelmed crematoriums are lighting up night skies.
![FILE - In this April 27, 2020, file photo, health workers attend to a colleague who fainted due to exhaustion and long working hours at a COVID-19 testing centre in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this April 27, 2020, file photo, health workers attend to a colleague who fainted due to exhaustion and long working hours at a COVID-19 testing centre in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this March 23, 2021, file photo, a health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a migrant labourer to test for COVID-19 at a bus station in Jammu, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this March 23, 2021, file photo, a health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a migrant labourer to test for COVID-19 at a bus station in Jammu, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this April 12, 2021, file photo, a Hindu holy man blows a Conch shell as devotees take holy dips in the Ganges River during Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival, one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism, in Haridwar, the northern state of Uttarakhand, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this April 12, 2021, file photo, a Hindu holy man blows a Conch shell as devotees take holy dips in the Ganges River during Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival, one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism, in Haridwar, the northern state of Uttarakhand, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this March 29, 2021, file photo, Indians, their faces smeared with color and glitter, dance as water is sprinkled on them during Holi celebrations in Prayagraj, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this March 29, 2021, file photo, Indians, their faces smeared with color and glitter, dance as water is sprinkled on them during Holi celebrations in Prayagraj, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this April 18, 2020, file photo, Indians stand in a queue to receive food distributed by volunteers during lockdown to prevent the spread of new coronavirus in Hyderabad, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this April 18, 2020, file photo, Indians stand in a queue to receive food distributed by volunteers during lockdown to prevent the spread of new coronavirus in Hyderabad, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this March 22, 2020, file photo, people clap from balconies in show of appreciation to health care workers as they observe a 14-hour]()
FILE - In this March 22, 2020, file photo, people clap from balconies in show of appreciation to health care workers as they observe a 14-hour
![FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2020, file photo, an Indian health worker takes nasal swab samples to test for COVID-19 in Gauhati, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2020, file photo, an Indian health worker takes nasal swab samples to test for COVID-19 in Gauhati, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this March 7, 2021, file photo, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters wear masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they gather for a rally addressed by Modi ahead of West Bengal state elections in Kolkata, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this March 7, 2021, file photo, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters wear masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they gather for a rally addressed by Modi ahead of West Bengal state elections in Kolkata, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2020, file photo, Indian women perform rituals standing inside an artificial pond on Chhat Puja festival even as health officials warned about the potential for the coronavirus to spread during the religious festival season, in Mumbai, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2020, file photo, Indian women perform rituals standing inside an artificial pond on Chhat Puja festival even as health officials warned about the potential for the coronavirus to spread during the religious festival season, in Mumbai, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this May 20, 2020, file photo, migrant workers from other states line up to board buses for their onward journey by train to their destination in Mumbai, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this May 20, 2020, file photo, migrant workers from other states line up to board buses for their onward journey by train to their destination in Mumbai, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this March 28, 2021, file photo, a man wearing a mask walks past an effigy of coronavirus kept to be burnt as part of a ritual during 'Holi' festival in Mumbai, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this March 28, 2021, file photo, a man wearing a mask walks past an effigy of coronavirus kept to be burnt as part of a ritual during 'Holi' festival in Mumbai, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this April 17, 2021, file photo, ambulances carrying COVID-19 patients line up waiting for their turn to be attended at a dedicated COVID-19 government hospital in Ahmedabad, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this April 17, 2021, file photo, ambulances carrying COVID-19 patients line up waiting for their turn to be attended at a dedicated COVID-19 government hospital in Ahmedabad, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this April 12, 2021, file photo, devotees take holy dips in the Ganges River during Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival, one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism, in Haridwar, northern state of Uttarakhand, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this April 12, 2021, file photo, devotees take holy dips in the Ganges River during Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival, one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism, in Haridwar, northern state of Uttarakhand, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this March 7, 2021, file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally ahead of West Bengal state elections in Kolkata, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this March 7, 2021, file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally ahead of West Bengal state elections in Kolkata, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this May 3, 2020, file photo, an Indian Air Force helicopter showers flower petals on the staff of INS Asvini hospital in Mumbai, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this May 3, 2020, file photo, an Indian Air Force helicopter showers flower petals on the staff of INS Asvini hospital in Mumbai, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this May 21, 2020, file photo, a migrant worker from another state waits in long queue to get his name registered so that he can board a train to his village during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of new coronavirus in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this May 21, 2020, file photo, a migrant worker from another state waits in long queue to get his name registered so that he can board a train to his village during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of new coronavirus in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this April 24, 2021, file photo, a COVID-19 patient inside a car, receives oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this April 24, 2021, file photo, a COVID-19 patient inside a car, receives oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this April 20, 2021, file photo, a man waits for the cremation of a relative who died of COVID-19, placed near bodies of other victims, in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this April 20, 2021, file photo, a man waits for the cremation of a relative who died of COVID-19, placed near bodies of other victims, in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS
![Health workers bring a patient to be admitted at a government COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad, India, Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Photo: AP via RSS]()
Health workers bring a patient to be admitted at a government COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad, India, Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Photo: AP via RSS
![FILE - In this April 24, 2021, file photo, multiple funeral pyres of victims of COVID-19 burn at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS]()
FILE - In this April 24, 2021, file photo, multiple funeral pyres of victims of COVID-19 burn at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP via RSS
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