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The story of Rajkumar Keswani, the man who foretold the world's worst industrial accident.

The story of the journalist Rajkumar Keswani, who foretold the world's worst industrial accident in the Indian city of Bhopal in 1984. Unfortunately, nobody believed him.

Bhopal became synonymous with the world's worst industrial accident. Tens of thousands of people died and many more suffered long term illnesses when lethal methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant in the city in central India on 2 December 1984.

For the previous two years, one man had been predicting that Bhopal was an accident waiting to happen. Forty years ago this month, the Bhopali journalist Rajkumar Keswani wrote his first article warning of the dangers posed by safety lapses at the plant. During a dogged investigation pitting him against political power, corporate money and the indifference of the media and public opinion, he never gave up. This cinematic documentary series tells his story for the first time.

BBC Radio 4 LW

Bhopal: 1. A Friend Dies

1. A Friend Dies

BBC Radio 4 - Bhopal, 1. A Friend Dies

The Bhopal gas tragedy was the worlds worst industrial accident. Tens of thousands of people died and many more suffered long term illnesses when lethal methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant in the city in central India on 2nd December 1984.

For the previous two years one man had been predicting that Bhopal was an accident waiting to happen. Forty years ago this month the Bhopali journalist Rajkumar Keswani wrote his first article warning of the dangers posed by safety lapses at the plant. During a dogged investigation pitting him against political power, corporate money and the indifference of the media and public opinion, he never gave up. This cinematic documentary series tells his story for the first time.

Episode 1. A Friend Dies

Keswani is the kind of journalist who finds his stories on the ground, talking to people in his native Bhopal. One evening he learns from his friend Ashraf, a worker at the Union Carbide chemical plant, that there are regular safety lapses and leaks. Shortly afterwards, Ashraf dies when he's exposed to lethal gases. A grief stricken Keswani decides he must find the truth behind safety concerns at the plant. But when questioning government officials he finds nothing but support for the multinational company that had chosen Bhopal as its base. He hears more worrying accounts from local union officials and when they are published in a small article, retribution follows. Keswani feels sure that something troubling is going on behind the scenes.

Narrator Narinder Samra
Written and researched by Anubha Yadav and Radhika Kapur
Music and Sound Design by Shreyan Chatterjee
Studio Mix by Donald McDonald
Producer Neil McCarthy

With thanks to Down To Earth

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