CNN presents a special documentary on Bhopal gas tragedy

Media News

New Delhi, December 01, 2009

Mention "Chernobyl", and most people recognize the name immediately. Dozens died there, following a nuclear power plant accident, and thousands were sickened. But the world's worst industrial disaster - far worse - predated Chernobyl by a year and half in Bhopal. 

This month on CNN International, ‘World’s Untold Stories’ travels to Bhopal, a city in central India that suffered the world’s worst industrial disaster in December 1984. A quarter century after the disaster that has claimed thousands of lives, CNN returns to see what has changed - and what hasn't. In its special documentary, "25 Years After Midnight", the program talks to the survivors and activists who have devoted their lives to speaking out about the disaster, and helping its victims.

Shortly after midnight, on December 3, 1984, thousands of people were killed when a cloud of chemicals leaked from a Union Carbide pesticide plant. 25 years later, coverage of the incident and its aftermath has settled into something of an annual ritual before the world's attention drifts away until the next anniversary.

But for many in Bhopal, the disaster isn't just a moment in history to be remembered on anniversaries. It's an ever-present part of their daily life. Satinath Sarangi, the founder of Sambhavna clinic sees new patients every day who are suffering from the effects of the disaster. The clinic provides free medical care for survivors of the gas tragedy. A former Union Carbide plant employee, T.R. Chouhan warns that the plant site still poses a threat to those living nearby. And to this day, the head of a victims' rights group, BGPMUS (Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan), Abdul Jabbar Khan leads weekly demonstrations, rallying against injustices to anyone who will listen. They're fighting for help, for money, for justice - and yet with the passage of time, many of their goals are looking increasingly unlikely. Their experiences tell a story of survival, determination and hope - as they work to help Bhopal's victims, and ensure that the world never forgets what happened there.

This special CNN documentary tells the global audience how the Bhopal gas tragedy victims are affected - physically, financially, and emotionally. It also hears from the determined, dedicated individuals who have devoted their lives to helping the survivors, finding out what motivates them to keep going in the face of an increasingly disinterested world and a new generation in Bhopal that just wants to put the incident behind them.

For further information, please contact:

CNN Public Relations

Raman Swain

Mobile: (91) 9811322725

Email: raman.swain@turner.com