April 26, 1986: 30 years since the tragedy at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (15 photos + 1 video)

April 26, 1986. We will remember this day as one of the most terrible days for the whole world. Exactly 30 years ago, the largest accident of its kind in the entire history of nuclear energy occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. Glass broke, people drove away, broken destinies scattered with a bang, lives were torn apart at once into before and after, and their tears were woven into polyphony.

The accident occurred at about 1:23 a.m. as a result of an unsuccessful experiment to use the kinetic energy of a turbogenerator rotor as a backup source of energy for the needs of the station. This was already the fourth test of the “turbogenerator rotor run-down” mode conducted at the Chernobyl NPP; all previous ones were also not crowned with success.

Recording of telephone conversations between the dispatcher of the TsPPZ (central point of fire communication) with the dispatchers of the HPV (militarized fire department) of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ivankov, Polessky, with the leadership of the fire department on April 26, 1986.

[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgrHY_qYo3o]

From the beginning of the experiment, the reactor showed a tendency to increase power, but this did not cause concern. At 1:23:38 an emergency signal was detected, but the reactor was not shut down. Further, signals were received about a rapid increase in power, and then a series of explosions began. By 1:23:47–1:23:50 the reactor was already completely destroyed.

You can study the chronology of events in this post.

Those to whom you and I owe our lives, without hesitation, gave theirs and devoted all their efforts to eliminating the consequences of the accident. The liquidators were constantly changing: those who had reached the maximum dose of radiation left, and others immediately came to take their place.

Part of a collapsed roof in Chernobyl

The bulk of the work was carried out in 1986-1987, approximately 240 thousand people took part in it. The total number of liquidators (including subsequent years) was about 600 thousand.

Peace to you, silent heroes,

Fighters against invisible trouble.

Overcoming pain at times,

You defended your native land

Not knowing about the fierce torment,

Not knowing cesium decay,

Through contaminated alleys

You made your way at random.

They extinguished the flames, washed Pripyat,

And they erected a sarcophagus.

For the bright sun at its zenith,

For the whole world in your hands.

Thank you, who saved us,

I didn’t spare my health then!

To the departed - blissful paradise,

Living for many years.

Unique photos: liquidators playing football in Pripyat, 1987

They tried to live a normal life even in such difficult conditions

Find out more about the life of liquidators in the danger zone here!

To those who saved the world!

Construction of a sarcophagus over a destroyed reactor

But these 15 facts about the Chernobyl tragedy will terrify you!

"Arch" - a new sarcophagus of the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

An empty city with the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the background

And here’s what the city of Pripyat looked like and what it became like before and after the tragedy!

In terms of its scale, the Chernobyl accident has no equal in the history of nuclear energy. It can only be compared with the disaster at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in Japan in March 2011. And I really want the world to never know such tragedies again.