Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal

December 2, 1984

A tank of methyl isocyanate at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, leaked a toxic cloud that drifted through the surrounding shantytowns while the residents slept. At least eight thousand died by morning, tens of thousands more in the years after. It remains the worst industrial accident in history, and the compensation paid was minimal.