The Chernobyl Disaster

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]Chernobyl was a nuclear power station in Soviet Ukraine.

[00:00:06]On 26th April 1986, operators tested reactor four.

[00:00:11]A sudden power surge made the reactor unstable.

[00:00:16]They pressed the emergency button, but the design failed.

[00:00:22]The core exploded, tearing off the reactor roof.

[00:00:27]Fire and radiation poured into the dark sky.

[00:00:32]Workers and firefighters rushed in, unaware of the danger.

[00:00:38]Many received lethal doses within minutes.

[00:00:43]Nearby Pripyat still slept, trusting the plant.

[00:00:48]By morning, authorities began a secret evacuation.

[00:00:53]Thousands left home, carrying only small bags.

[00:00:58]Officials first hid the scale of the disaster.

[00:01:03]Later, radiation spread across Ukraine and beyond.

[00:01:08]Helicopters dropped sand, lead, and boron on the fire.

[00:01:13]A concrete sarcophagus enclosed the destroyed reactor.

[00:01:18]The disaster exposed fatal flaws in safety and secrecy.

[00:01:24]It changed nuclear policy, memory, and fear forever.