Archive footage filmed in December 1984 features the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy, a chemical accident at Union Carbide in India considered to be the world's worst industrial disaster.

Bodies of victims wrapped in white material can be seen stored in a special room, while dead animals are shown scattered on the ground. Footage also features medical staff administering emergency aid to injured people, and part of a funeral ceremony can also be seen.

Around 45 tonnes of the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate escaped from the plant in Madhya Pradesh on December 3, 1984, drifting over the small towns around the industrial facility.

Estimates of the death toll vary; Madhya Pradesh state reported 3,787 killed initially and over 550,000 injured, while other investigations claimed up to 15,000 had died subsequently. Inquiries blamed substandard operating and safety procedures and understaffing.

The company paid out 470 million USD in compensation in 1989. India's courts charged then-CEO Warren Anderson with 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder' but he was never extradited from the US and died in 2014.

In 2010, seven Indian nationals were convicted of negligence and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a fine of around 2,000 USD (1,860 EUR) each.

This archive footage is released as part of the '100 Key Events in Russia in the 20th and 21st Centuries', a project with the Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive (rgakfd.ru).