Nine COVID-19 patients died on Monday after an oxygen pipe burst at a Russian hospital, local authorities have confirmed.

       It happened at the Clinical Emergency Hospital of Vladikavkaz, the capital city of the southwestern North Ossetia region.

       "There was an accident at the oxygen station, interruptions in oxygen supply, in fact, there was a rupture of the oxygen pipe from the tank, which is underground, and the supply was stopped," Sergei Menyailo, acting head of North Ossetia, told reporters.

       The pipe burst at 17:15 local time. Authorities said there were 71 patients in intensive care at the time, including 13 on "mechanical ventilation".

       All nine patients that died were on ventilators, the health ministry said.

       Oxygen was provided to the other patients from reserve cylinders.

       Menyailo said that hospitals in the regions will provide oxygen to the facility in Vladikavkaz from tomorrow.