Raghu Rai, Indian, born 1942
Burial of an Unknown Child, 1984
Arriving in Bhopal on the morning of December 4th, 1984, Raghu Rai witnessed and photographed the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy, which killed at least 4,000 people and affected the lives of more than 100,000. Children made up a large number of the fatalities and injuries, especially because the poisonous gas drifted close to the ground. Rai photographed the burial of this unidentified child; her eyes are cloudy and swollen due to her exposure to the gas. The child’s family was never identified, but her image has become an icon for the disaster. Label by Sarah Roberts