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India: 12 Killed as Thousands Protest Pollution from Copper Smelter

HeadlineMay 24, 2018

In India, police opened fire on thousands of environmental protesters opposing the expansion of a copper smelter in the southern city Thoothukudi, killing 12 people. Tuesday’s deadly crackdown came as protesters torched cars and a local administrator’s office, after an environmental regulator said the copper smelter was exceeding pollution limits and fouling nearby air and water, sickening residents and threatening fisheries. In 2013, a gas release from the smelter left hundreds of nearby residents struggling to breathe, with nausea and throat problems. The copper smelter’s owner has temporarily shut the plant for maintenance but wants to reopen the smelter at double its capacity in June.

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