India: Survivors & victims of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy continue to await justice & fair compensation

On the night of 2–3 December 1984 methyl isocyanate (MIC) spilled out from Union Carbide India Ltd’s (UCIL’s) pesticide factory. Estimates on death toll vary, with official immediate death toll being 2,259. A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. Others estimate that 8,000 died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases. The US-based multinational company, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), which owned the plant through its subsidiary UCIL, did little to help deal with the human tragedy. Thirty years later, survivors & families of victims continue to await justice and compensation.