History of Chernobyl tragedy

At 1:23 a.m., April 26, 1986, the world counted down the last seconds until the beginning of the most terrible catastrophe of the last century. Those very last seconds became the final requiem of the 4th nuclear reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power station.

The last seconds were in the lives of dozens of people for whom the night of the tragedy cost their own lives. The Chernobyl tragedy has led to the deaths and illnesses of thousands of people. It jeopardized the development of world nuclear energy. It resounded painfully in the souls of people and many of its consequences are considered the first impetus in the collapse of the communist regime.

Every spring, the international community honors the memory of station employees and liquidators of the disaster who died at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. These people, exposing themselves to mortal risk, went to the ruined reactor with hope of finding those who still needed help. The light signal of radiation hazard forever remained in the memory of those who survived after the disaster.

That light was a signal, accompanied by a piercingly unpleasant and sharp sound of an activated emergency siren. This is an unceasing and agitating sound that was unbearable to hear. He was a terrifying factor in the realization of the scale of the tragedy. It is impossible to erase from memory, it is impossible to forget today …

This material describes the last hour of the life of the fourth power unit. The last minutes and seconds of the life of people directly involved in the localization of the tragedy. Workers for whom fatal mistakes cost their lives.

The material was collected on the basis of declassified archival documents and testimonies of surviving eyewitnesses …