The worst nuclear disaster in history

[00:00:00]On April 26th, 1986, a routine safety test at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Soviet Ukraine led to the worst nuclear accident in history.

[00:00:13]Engineers were testing how long the turbines could provide power during an emergency shutdown.

[00:00:19]However, a series of mistakes, combined with serious flaws in the reactor's design, caused reactor number four to become dangerously unstable.

[00:00:29]At 1:23 a.m., two massive explosions ripped through the reactor, blowing off its roof and releasing huge amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere. In the hours that followed, firefighters and plant workers rushed to battle the flames, unaware that they were being exposed to deadly levels of radiation.

[00:00:50]Nearby residents continued their daily lives, not knowing that invisible radioactive particles were spreading across the region.

[00:00:58]It was not until the following day that authorities began evacuating the city of Pripyat, home to nearly 50,000 people.

[00:01:07]Over time, more than 100,000 residents from surrounding areas were relocated.

[00:01:13]As radioactive contamination drifted across Europe, the disaster attracted worldwide attention.

[00:01:19]In the months and years that followed, hundreds of thousands of workers, known as liquidators, were mobilized to contain the damage, clean contaminated areas, and construct a massive concrete shelter around the destroyed reactor. The Chernobyl disaster exposed major weaknesses in nuclear safety and became one of the most significant events of the 20th century.

[00:01:43]Decades later, the abandoned reactor and the empty streets of Pripyat remain powerful reminders of the human and environmental consequences of technological failure.