How many people died in the Chernobyl disaster and what happened?
15.07.2023 - 19:39
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The Chernobyl disaster is regarded as the world's worst-ever civil nuclear incident.
The nuclear accident occurred at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, on 26 April 1986. At the time of the disaster, Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union.
Following the disaster the Soviet government engaged in a massive cover-up and it took them days to even acknowledge anything had happened. When they did the TV announcement simply said: "There has been an accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. One of the nuclear reactors was damaged. The effects of the accident are being remedied. Assistance has been provided for any affected people. An investigative commission has been set up."
It is believed more than 500,000 people were involved in the cleanup and decontamination of the area around the power plant following the incident. The whole operation is said to have cost 18 billion roubles more than £50 billion pounds adjusted to inflation today.
On Saturday night a Channel 4 two-part documentary, Chernobyl: The New Evidence, explores the catalogue of errors that happened in the run-up to the disaster and examines recently declassified evidence.
But what happened at Chernobyl, how many people died and what is it like today? Here is everything you need to know.
The disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred during a safety test on 26 April 1986, in the No. 4 nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine.
The test aimed to assess the steam turbine's capability to power emergency feedwater pumps in the event of a power loss and coolant leak.
As the operators reduced the reactor power, they