1985 Photo Contest, World Press Photo of the Year
Photographer

Pablo Bartholomew

Gamma

04 December, 1984

A child killed by the poisonous methyl isocyanate gas leak during the Union Carbide chemical plant disaster in Bhopal, India.

The gas drifted over the densely populated neighborhoods around the plant, killing thousands of people immediately and creating a panic as tens of thousands of others tried to flee Bhopal. An estimated number of 15,000 people would eventually die of diseases directly related to the disaster. Many more survivors suffered from chronic disorders, such as respiratory problems and eye problems, caused by their exposure to the toxic gas.

About the photographer

Pablo Bartholomew

Pablo Bartholomew (New Delhi, India, 1955) is an independent photographer based in India. He learned photography from his father, the art critic and photographer Richard Bartholo...

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