Ukraine Marks 40th Anniversary of 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

Ukraine marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident on Sunday, reflecting on the explosion and fire that occurred at the nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986. The BBC's Jessica Parker visited Pripyat, the city abandoned shortly after the disaster in 1986 where Chernobyl's workers lived.

A 2005 study by several UN agencies concluded that 4,000 people could die as a result of the Chernobyl accident.

The official death toll from the Chernobyl incident is 31. Halyna Kharshenko, aged 31 at the time, left her apartment in Pripyat at 7:30 am on April 26, 1986, for her shift at the Chernobyl plant three kilometers away. Her shift was supposed to last three days.

Halyna Kharshenko went to work at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, unaware of the scale of the explosion. Halyna Kharshenko knew only that there had been an accident at the site during the night of April 25-26, 1986.

Upon arrival, Halyna Kharshenko saw helicopters hovering over the gaping reactor 4 with huge flames pouring out. Firefighters ran in every direction at the Chernobyl plant on April 26, 1986. People were carried on stretchers and evacuated by ambulance to Kyiv and Moscow from the Chernobyl plant on April 26, 1986.

Halyna Kharshenko, a survivor, recalled the intense scene at Unit 4 following the reactor explosion. The invisible radioactive cloud from the Chernobyl explosion rose to an altitude of 10,000 meters. Rubber boots were handed out to the team of chemical analysts at Chernobyl due to contaminated water from firefighting efforts.

Dosimeters were given to measure radiation levels at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986. Halyna Kharshenko's dosimeter reading climbed to 182 rem, more than 20 times the maximum permitted threshold. Halyna Kharshenko took her post as a laboratory specialist in chemical analysis at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986.

Halyna Kharshenko was rushed to a hospital unit on April 27, 1986, where staff approached her only in full protective gear. Carol J. Williams and another Western journalist drove to Mitinskoye Cemetery in Moscow on June 24, 1986.

The journalists discovered 23 fresh graves inside the main entrance of Mitinskoye Cemetery. Each of the 23 graves has flowers on the mound of earth and a concrete border. Workmen are erecting identical marble tombstones for the graves.

The cemetery plot includes space for additional burials related to the incident. Six headstones bear the names of firefighters Viktor Kibenok, Vladimir Pravik, Nikolai Vashchuk, Vasily Ignatenko, Vladimir Tishchura, and Nikolai Titenok as victims of radiation at Chernobyl. A cemetery official stated on Tuesday that the plot was for those who died as a result of the nuclear accident.

Workers put up marble headstones bearing victims' names, birthdates, and dates of death in gold-painted inscription at Mitinskoye Cemetery. All dates of death on the headstones were after April 26, 1986. Some graves had temporary, hand-printed signs with names and dates.

Soviet officials reported on June 5, 1986, that 26 people had died from the accident, including two killed during the initial fire and explosion. Valery Khodemchuk, a power plant worker, will be entombed with the ruined No. 4 reactor because his body was never recovered, Pravda reported.

Pravda reported on May 23, 1986, that Vladimir Shashenok was killed instantly and buried at a village near the power station. Dr. Robert Gale stated there would probably be more deaths among the 55 or 60 people still in serious condition from radiation sickness.

Those suffering radiation sickness were brought to a Moscow hospital. Fifteen graves form a row at the back of the Chernobyl plot at Mitinskoye Cemetery. A second row of eight graves exists, with three graves to the right and five to the left of a gap that would accommodate seven graves.

Bouquets of red and pink flowers were left by relatives on each grave. A danger zone has been drawn around the area of the nuclear power station.

All residents of the area have been evacuated. Cemetery officials confiscated the notes and film of the two reporters. A policeman stated the cemetery was off limits to all except family members and special permission was needed from local authorities to copy names or take pictures.