A Rare Look Inside The Abandoned Factory That Caused The Worst Industrial Disaster In History

Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty

On the evening of December 2nd, 1984, a gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, spread from the factory to surrounding residential neighborhoods, killing thousands and affecting the area for the next thirty years.

It's known as the the worst industrial disaster in history, with an estimated death toll of 25,000. The factory's chemicals have caused various long-lasting medical problems in citizens in Bhopal as well, with the rates of cancer in the area doubling in women and tripling in men in the years after the tragedy.

Yet the factory itself still stands, dilapidated and overgrown, a constant reminder of the past.

While the site is generally off-limits to visitors, photographer and regular Business Insider contributor Giles Clarke was recently allowed access to the site and given a tour by Sanjay Verma, a man who survived the tragedy, losing seven family members in the process.

He shared the following images with us.