Authorities in India have removed hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste from a chemical factory that witnessed one of the world’s deadliest gas leaks 40 years ago.

Thousands of people died in the central city of Bhopal in December 1984 after breathing a poisonous gas leaked from the factory.

On Wednesday, around 337 tonnes of toxic waste was taken from the Union Carbide plant to an incinerator facility around 230km (143 miles) away after a court last month set a four-week deadline for it to be disposed of.

Officials say it will take between three and nine months to treat and destroy the waste but activists have raised concerns about potential damage to people’s health at the new location