Bhopal

Water entered a tank holding forty tonnes of methyl isocyanate at the Union Carbide plant a little after eleven at night. The refrigeration had been switched off to save money, the flare tower was out of service, and the gas scrubber was on standby.

The tank vented for about two hours over a city asleep, and the gas was heavier than air. It went through the shanty settlements that had grown up against the plant wall.

People woke unable to see or breathe and ran, which drew more of it into their lungs. There was no siren, no instruction, and no doctor in the city knew what the gas was because the company would not say.

The official immediate count was around three and a half thousand. Estimates of deaths within days run to eight thousand and of deaths since to twenty-five thousand. Half a million people were exposed and the ground water is still contaminated.

This roll is not closed and no honest figure can be given.