On the night of December 3, 1984, at approximately midnight In Bhopal’s train station Bhopal Junction the station superintendent H.S. Bhurvey and the deputy station superintendent Ghulam Dastagir were on duty. Around 1 o’clock, the Gorakhpur-Bombay Express arrived at the station, prompting Dastagir to leave his cabin.
Suddenly, he experienced burning eyes and a sore throat. Concerned, he searched for Bhurvey, his superior, to inform him about this, but couldn’t find him. Moments later, he found Bhurvey lying on the ground. Dastagir tried to check whether he was breathing, but realized that Bhurvey had passed away.
Dastagir immediately understood the cause The thing is that, a kilometre away from Bhopal Junction, in the Union Carbide factory there had been a hazardous incident, releasing 50,000 pounds of poisonous gas, including MIC, hydrogen cyanide, and phosgene. The gases were spreading rapidly all over the city.
As the most senior person present, Dastagir took charge, deciding that the Gorakhpur-bound train needed to leave before its scheduled departure, even though it was supposed to stay at the station for 20 more minutes.
