What is Bhopal disaster?
{{Infobox news event | title = Bhopal disaster | image_name = Bhopal-Union Carbide 1 crop memorial.jpg | image_size = 225px | caption = Memorial by Dutch artist Ruth Kupferschmidt for those killed and disabled by the 1984 toxic gas release | date = 2 – {{end date|1984|12|03|df=y}} | time = | place = [[Bhopal]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], India | coordinates = {{Coord|23|16|51|N|77|24|38|E|region:IN-MP_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | also known as = Bhopal gas tragedy | cause = [[Methyl isocyanate]] leak from [[Union Carbide India Limited]] plant | reported deaths = At least 3,787; over 16,000 claimed | reported injuries = At least 558,125 | reported missing = | reported property damage = | burial = | inquiries = | inquest = | coroner = | suspects = | accused = | convicted = | charges = | verdict = | convictions = | litigation = }} The '''Bhopal disaster''' or '''Bhopal gas tragedy''' was an industrial accident. It happened at a [[Union Carbide]] subsidiary [[pesticide]] plant in the city of [[Bhopal]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[India]]. On the night of 2-3 December 1984, the plant released approximately 40 tons of toxic [[methyl isocyanate]] (MIC) [[gas]]. More than 500,000 people were exposed to toxic gases. The mixture of poisonous gases flooded the city. There was great panic as people woke up with a burning sensation in their [[Lung|lungs]]. Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas. Many were trampled in the panic that followed. The first official immediate death toll was 3,598 in 1989. Another estimate is that 8,000 died within two weeks, and that 8,000 more have since died from gas-related diseases.<ref name=Eckerman2001>Eckerman (2001).