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 some estimates, a hundred times more radiation than the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The accident was caused by a test to check if the reactor could operate for 40-45 seconds without power. Testers at Reactor No. 4 switched off almost all safety features before the test, according to some reports. Workers switched off the steam during the test, causing cooling systems to malfunction. Operators tried to reinsert control rods but a flaw caused them to jam. A sudden power surge caused steam explosions that destroyed the core and ignited a graphite fire that burned for days. Inspectors reported the accident was caused by human errors and violations of operating rules. Vince Zabielski, a former nuclear engineer, described the Soviet-era RBMK reactor design as also to blame, noting that unlike Western reactors, there was no containment structure to limit the release.
It was as if a lot of planes were flying overhead, everything was humming and the glass in the windows shook.
Two plant workers were killed within hours of the meltdown. Another 28 people died from radiation poisoning, including firefighters. Thousands or possibly millions have died from radiation-associated illnesses, though the exact number remains unknown. Petro Hurin, a cleanup worker, said five of the 40 people in his cleanup team are alive today. He told wire reports, "Not a single Chernobyl person is in good health. It's death by a thousand."
Personal accounts illustrate the human toll. Iryna Stetsenko and Serhiy Lobanov were getting married on the day of the accident. According to BBC News, Iryna Stetsenko described the event: "It was as if a lot of planes were flying overhead, everything was humming and the glass in the windows shook." Serhiy saw soldiers in gas masks and men washing the street with a foamy solution on the morning of the accident. According to BBC News, Serhiy Lobanov described feeling a shake and feeling anxious. The couple now live in Berlin, having fled conflict, not the nuclear disaster. Information about the accident was strictly controlled in the Soviet Union. According to BBC News, authorities told callers not to panic and that planned events should go ahead. Children were sent to school as usual on the day of the accident.
I felt a shake, as if some kind of wave passed
I felt a bit anxious