The Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, releasing, according to major media reports, a hundred times more radiation than the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The accident was caused by a safety test at Reactor No. 4, during which operators switched off almost all safety features, according to major media reports. The test was intended to check if the reactor could operate for 40-45 seconds without power. Workers switched off the steam, causing cooling systems to malfunction; control rods jammed due to a design flaw. Inspectors reported the accident was caused by human errors and violations of operating rules. The Soviet-era RBMK reactor design lacked a containment structure, contributing to the severity, according to Vince Zabielski.
We had no other protective equipment than ordinary smoke masks.
The power surge caused steam explosions that destroyed the core and ignited a graphite fire that burned for days. Firefighters worked all night to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent reactors. The fire on the roof was extinguished by 7 am, according to major media reports.
Two plant workers died within hours of the meltdown. Another 28 people died from radiation poisoning, including firefighters. Thousands or possibly millions have died from radiation-associated illnesses, according to major media reports.
On the bridge I see a bright light. A beam, like a pillar straight up towards the sky.
Petro Hurin, a liquidator, told Metro - Main that five of the 40 people in his team are alive today. According to Metro - Main, Hurin described that not a single Chernobyl person is in good health, calling it 'death by a thousand.' Iryna Stetsenko and Serhiy Lobanov were getting married on the day of the accident. The couple now live in Berlin, having fled conflict, not the nuclear disaster. According to BBC News, Serhiy Lobanov described feeling a shake, as if some kind of wave passed, and felt a bit anxious. According to BBC News, Iryna Stetsenko described hearing a humming sound and windows shaking. According to BBC News, Serhiy saw soldiers in gas masks and men washing the street with a foamy solution on the morning of the accident.
Information about the accident was strictly controlled in the Soviet Union; radio made no mention of it. Authorities told callers not to panic and that planned events should go ahead. Children were sent to school as usual on the day after the accident.
The firefighters who went in first, their skin was like grilled.
According to SVT Nyheter, Petro Chmel described that firefighters had no protective equipment other than ordinary smoke masks. According to SVT Nyheter, Petro Sjavrej described seeing a bright light like a pillar straight up into the sky on the way to the plant. According to SVT Nyheter, Petro Chmel described that the skin of the first firefighters who entered was like grilled.
As a condition of EU entry, all countries using RBMK reactors had to permanently cease operations, according to Vince Zabielski.
At seven in the morning the operation was called off. Then everyone came down from the roof. At first I felt relieved, then it caught up with me.
It was terrible. We walked around and looked to see who had survived. Someone lay here, someone lay there.
Not a single Chernobyl person is in good health. It's death by a thousand
It was as if a lot of planes were flying overhead, everything was humming and the glass in the windows shook.
I felt a shake, as if some kind of wave passed
I felt a bit anxious.