Today, April 26, is the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. The whole world recalls the events of late April 1986, honors the memory of liquidators and people who died from radiation exposure, and takes measures to prevent similar man-made disasters in the future, UNN writes.
The largest man-made disaster in human history occurred on April 26, 1986. At half past two in the morning, during an experiment, two powerful explosions occurred due to unprofessional actions of the plant personnel and the design of the reactor. They completely destroyed the reactor of the fourth power unit.
The explosion also damaged the walls and ceiling of the engine room, and a fire broke out inside the station and on the roof.
Firefighters immediately arrived at the scene and started fighting the fire without any protective equipment and in the face of terrible radiation.
Among the first responders, 31 died within weeks of the accident. 134 Chornobyl NPP employees suffered from radiation sickness.
The Soviet authorities tried to conceal the scale of the disaster. The population was informed about the event without details only on April 28.
More than 600,000 people took part in the liquidation of the accident and its consequences. According to various estimates, more than 25 thousand of them died, and more than 165 thousand became disabled.
At the same time, it is impossible to establish the number of people who suffered various diseases and died as a result of this man-made disaster
A 30-kilometer exclusion zone with an area of more than 2.5 thousand kilometers was created around the plant.
In November 1986, a special sarcophagus was installed at the fourth power unit. In 2019, it was replaced with a more modern and reliable shelter.
On December 15, 2000, the Chornobyl NPP, as a source of electricity generation, finally ceased to operate. Some personnel continued to work at the plant anyway, as it was necessary to monitor the condition of the sarcophagus and radioactive waste.
People who were on shift on the morning of February 24 became hostages of the Russian invaders who broke into the station.
There was information that the Russians were preparing a terrorist attack at the plant to cause another man-made disaster.
On March 31, realizing the pointlessness of their stay at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Russian soldiers left.