Bhopal Gas Tragedy

38 years ago, that night of 2-3 December 1984 had brought such devastation in Bhopal, which no one could even imagine. Dead bodies were scattered from the hospital to the streets. It was a dark night for the people of Bhopal. Such a night when people went to death while sleeping. Thousands of people lost their lives. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy is considered one of the worst industrial accidents in the world.

How did the Bhopal gas tragedy happen?

The incident took place at plant number C of the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. When methyl isocyanate gas was leaked from the factory. From 8:30 pm on December 2, the air of Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, was turning poisonous. With the cold wind intensifying in the cold nights, that poisonous gas reached many parts of the city. Some people were sleeping. Some were preparing to sleep. As soon as the 3rd date started, this air became poisonous as well as deadly. According to the affidavit of the government, within a few hours of the incident, about 3000 people died due to poisonous gas. Wherein Union Carbide's name later became Dow Chemicals.

How many people died?

How many people lost their lives in this? How many were crippled? There is no exact figure for this. According to government figures, 3,787 people were killed in the accident. In an affidavit submitted in 2006, the government stated that 5,58,125 people were injured in the Bhopal gas tragedy, including about 3900 severely and permanently disabled people. At the same time, a figure presented in the Supreme Court said that the accident had killed 15,724 people.

How much gas was leaked?

According to media reports, about 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas was leaked from the Union Carbide factory. This is a poisonous gas. As soon as it goes inside the body, a person dies within a few minutes.

Reason for gas leak?

Leakage of gas was reported from plant number C of the factory. According to government records, methyl isocyanate was added to the plant's cooling water. Due to this, the amount of gases increased and there was more pressure on tank number 610. Gas started pouring out of the tank. About 5 lakh people were affected by the leaking of methyl isocyanate gas.

What happened after the gas leak?

At that time, when the gas slowly started entering people's homes, people came out in panic. There was darkness in front of someone's eyes, then someone's head was dizzy and everyone had shortness of breath. Suddenly thousands of people were running towards the hospital on the morning of 3rd December. At that time there were two government hospitals in the city. People were worried. Some died on the way, while some died while gasping. According to the information, the alarm system of the Union Carbide factory was also faulty. No alarm raised after gas leak.

challenge for doctors

The doctors of Bhopal had never faced such a situation. People complained of dizziness, shortness of breath, skin irritation and rashes. Many people became blind. The doctors were unable to detect the symptoms of methyl isocyanate. The two hospitals reportedly treated around 50,000 patients in the first two days of the Bhopal gas leak. Eight hours after the gas leak, Bhopal was considered free from the effects of poisonous gas, but the wounds from the 1984 accident have not healed even after 37 years.

Who was the main accused?

The main accused in this accident was Warren Anderson, who was the CEO of this company. Anderson was also arrested on 6 December 1984, but the very next day on 7 December he was sent to Delhi by a government plane and from there he went to America. After this, Anderson never returned to India. The court had declared him absconding. Anderson died on September 29, 2014, in Vero Beach, Florida, at the age of 93.