Residents turned out to mark the world's worst industrial accident People in the Indian city of Bhopal have been marking 25 years since a leak at a gas plant killed thousands and made many more seriously ill. Activists and survivors marched through the city, holding torches and chanting slogans against Union Carbide - the US firm that owned the plant at the time. The incident was the worst industrial disaster in history. Tons of a deadly toxin called methyl isocyanate leaked from the factory and settled over slums around the plant. Campaigners say the effects of the gas continue to this day. Residents of the city have held a week of commemoration events in the lead-up to the anniversary.
BHOPAL'S DEATH TOLL
Official figures on deaths: 3,828
Affected: Nearly 600,000
Court awards compensation for deaths: 15,274
Unofficial figures on deaths from 3-6 Dec: 7,000-8,000
Subsequent deaths: 15,000-20,000
Compensation: Union Carbide pays $470m in 1989
Source: Madhya Pradesh government, Indian Council of Medical Research Late on Wednesday, crowds gathered for a candle-lit rally at a memorial statue of a mother and child outside the plant. The factory is now abandoned, but campaigners say it is still leaking toxins into groundwater and soil, affecting surrounding areas. The BBC took a sample of water from a hand pump in constant use just north of the plant and had it tested in the UK. It contained nearly 1,000 times the World Health Organization's recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride, a pollutant known to cause cancer and liver damage. Campaigners also say that Bhopal has an unusually high incidence of children with birth defects and growth deficiency, as well as cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. This is seen not only among survivors of the gas but among generations born much later, they say. No-one has ever stood trial over what happened at Bhopal. Twenty years ago Union Carbide paid $470m (£282m) in compensation to the Indian government. Dow Chemicals, which bought the company in 1999, says this settlement resolved all existing and future claims against the company.
BHOPAL'S DEATH TOLL
Official figures on deaths: 3,828
Affected: Nearly 600,000
Court awards compensation for deaths: 15,274
Unofficial figures on deaths from 3-6 Dec: 7,000-8,000
Subsequent deaths: 15,000-20,000
Compensation: Union Carbide pays $470m in 1989
Source: Madhya Pradesh government, Indian Council of Medical Research Late on Wednesday, crowds gathered for a candle-lit rally at a memorial statue of a mother and child outside the plant. The factory is now abandoned, but campaigners say it is still leaking toxins into groundwater and soil, affecting surrounding areas. The BBC took a sample of water from a hand pump in constant use just north of the plant and had it tested in the UK. It contained nearly 1,000 times the World Health Organization's recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride, a pollutant known to cause cancer and liver damage. Campaigners also say that Bhopal has an unusually high incidence of children with birth defects and growth deficiency, as well as cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. This is seen not only among survivors of the gas but among generations born much later, they say. No-one has ever stood trial over what happened at Bhopal. Twenty years ago Union Carbide paid $470m (£282m) in compensation to the Indian government. Dow Chemicals, which bought the company in 1999, says this settlement resolved all existing and future claims against the company.
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