The Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, according to multiple reports. The accident was caused by a safety test at Reactor No. 4 where operators switched off safety features and a flaw in control rods caused them to jam, leading to a power surge and explosions, major media reported. The explosion destroyed the reactor core and ignited a graphite fire that burned for days, releasing a hundred times more radiation than the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to major media.
Two plant workers were killed within hours of the meltdown, and another 28 people died from radiation poisoning, including firefighters, major media reported. Thousands or possibly millions have died from radiation-associated illnesses, according to Metro - Main.
We had no other protective equipment than ordinary smoke masks.
The Soviet Union initially withheld information about the accident for two days, major media reported. Elevated radioactivity was detected at the Forsmark nuclear power plant in Sweden before the Soviet Union confirmed the accident, and the Soviet news agency Tass confirmed that a reactor had failed at Chernobyl on the same evening as the Forsmark detection, according to major media.
Firefighters were called to the Chernobyl plant after the explosion and worked through the night despite high radiation levels, major media reported. According to SVT Nyheter, Petro Chmel described that firefighters had no protective equipment other than ordinary smoke masks, and their skin was 'grilled' after exposure. The fire on the reactor roof was extinguished by morning, according to major media.
The firefighters who went in first, their skin was like grilled.
A couple, Iryna Stetsenko and Serhiy Lobanov, were married on the day of the accident in Pripyat, major media reported. According to BBC News, Serhiy Lobanov described feeling a shake and seeing soldiers in gas masks and men washing the street with a foamy solution on the morning of the accident. The Soviet authorities told residents not to panic and allowed planned events to go ahead, according to BBC News, Iryna Stetsenko (quoting authorities) described.
The RBMK reactor design lacked a containment structure, which contributed to the severity of the accident, according to Metro - Main, Vince Zabielski described. As a condition of EU entry, all countries using RBMK reactors had to permanently cease operations, according to Metro - Main, Vince Zabielski described.
Not a single Chernobyl person is in good health. It's death by a thousand
According to Metro - Main, Petro Hurin, a liquidator, said five of the 40 people in his team are still alive, and not a single Chernobyl worker is in good health. The long-term health effects on survivors and liquidators continue to be observed, but the full extent remains unknown.
Unlike Western reactors, there was no containment structure to limit the release. Its scale, severity, and enduring impact set it apart from all other nuclear accidents.
As a condition of entry into the EU, all countries using the RBMK design had to permanently cease operations.
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.
They told her not to panic, all planned events in the city should go ahead.