40 years ago August 26, 1986: Volcanic gas kills 2,000
Opinion 40 years ago August 26, 1986: Volcanic gas kills 2, 000 This is the front page of The Indian Express published on August 26, 1986.
Opinion 40 years ago August 26, 1986: Volcanic gas kills 2, 000 This is the front page of The Indian Express published on August 26, 1986.
Article outline
- What happened
- Official response
- The bottom line
Key points
- 2 min readAug 26, 2026 06: 40 AM IST First published on: Aug 26, 2026 at 06: 40 AM IST.
- This is the front page of The Indian Express published on August 26, 1986.
- Gas spewing from a volcanic lake in north-western Cameroon killed at least 2, 000 individuals and sent thousands of others fleeing for their lives, office-holders noted.
- Opposition parties remarked they would launch a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to oust President Zia-ul-Haq as the police continued to hunt and arrest opposition leaders.
- Two youths, suspected of involvement in the Vaidya assassination, were arrested by the Goa and Maharashtra police respectively.
Gas spewing from a volcanic lake in north-western Cameroon killed at least 2, 000 individuals and sent thousands of others fleeing for their lives, office-holders noted. Soldiers in masks established the preliminary death toll as they created their way into the stricken region, the information minister, Georges Ngango, stated.
Opposition parties remarked they would launch a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to oust President Zia-ul-Haq as the police continued to hunt and arrest opposition leaders. The Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) remarked in an official note that it would start a civil disobedience campaign in September to remove Gen Zia from power and force elections. Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo ruled out early elections before the scheduled 1990 polls and remarked the administration would not accord with the Opposition. Vaidya case suspects arrested.
Two youths, suspected of involvement in the Vaidya assassination, were arrested by the Goa and Maharashtra police respectively. As per the police, closely matches Sukhi, a member of the notorious Jinda gang, is in the custody of the Margao police awaiting identification. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd, a 27-year-old whose description.
For now, 40 years ago August 26, 1986: Volcanic gas kills 2, 000 remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.