On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant when an explosion ripped through one of the facility’s reactors. Here’s a look back at news images of the accident, recent construction, and the nearby abandoned town of Pripyat.
A helicopter sprays a decontaminating substance over the region surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, June 13, 1986. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant shortly after the explosion of its still smoking fourth reactor, 1986. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant after the explosion of its No. 4 reactor, 1986. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, May 9, 1986. Arrow indicates the location of the accident.A helicopter drops concrete onto the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after the explosion, 1986. Reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after its explosion, 1986. A worker at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant checks the radiation level in the engine room of the first and second power units, June 5, 1986. A traffic policeman checks vehicles entering the restricted zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, June 13, 1986.Workers enter the Chernobyl nuclear power plant weeks after the 1986 explosion. The sign reads: “Comrades, we guarantee the launch of the first and second bloc by October 1986,” referring to the first and second reactor that were switched off after the accident. Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, May 14, 1988. Construction of of the sarcophagus around reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after its explosion, 1986. Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear plant after completion of work to entomb it.A technician monitors nuclear reactor No. 3 in a control room of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, May 12, 1988. The sarcophagus covering the damaged reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. Employees work in front of the sarcophagus covering the damaged reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. An employee works on the New Safe Confinement structure at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. Employees work in front of the sarcophagus covering the damaged reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. The containment shelter for the damaged reactor (left) and the New Safe Confinement structure (right) at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. An employee at a plant for processing liquid radioactive waste at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. Containers at a plant for processing liquid radioactive waste at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. A control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. An employee at the control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. A control panel in a control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. A control panel in a control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. A control panel in a control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. A control panel in a control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. A telephone in a control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. An employee measures the radiation level as journalists take pictures at a control center of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. The New Safe Confinement structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. The New Safe Confinement structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. Dogs in front of the new Safe Confinement structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. Journalists walk through a corridor of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. An employee walks through a pump room of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. An employee in a pump room of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. An employee and journalists walk through a corridor of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. Employees walk through a corridor of the stopped third reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 20, 2018. <B>PRIPYAT GHOST TOWN</B>: The coat of arms of the former Soviet Union on a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 28, 2016. The containment shelter for the damaged fourth reactor (left) and the New Safe Confinement structure (right) at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, seen from a distance in the abandoned city of Pripyat, March 23, 2016. The abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 31, 2006. The sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant visible in the distance beyond graffiti on a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat, April 4, 2011. The abandoned city of Pripyat, with the sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the distance, March 31, 2011. The sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant visible in the distance seen from the balcony of a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat, April 4, 2011. The coat of arms of the Soviet Union on a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine February 24, 2011. Inside a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. The coat of arms of the former Soviet Union on a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat near Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 28, 2016. Buildings in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. Buildings in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, April 5, 2017. Employees ride a bus in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. A building in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. Buildings in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. Medical equipment in front of a hospital in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 31, 2006.The abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. A ferris wheel in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 28, 2016. An amusement park in the center of the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 28, 2016. An amusement park in the center of the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 31, 2006. A dog in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 28, 2016. A cross and crucifix in the abandoned city of Pripyat near Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. Soviet placards in a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, February 22, 2011. A picture of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin inside a hospital in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 31, 2006. An image of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in a kindergarten in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 28, 2016. Newspapers from March 1986 with a picture of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in an empty building in the abandoned town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 31, 2006.A guard at a checkpoint in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 23, 2016. A clock at a swimming pool the abandoned town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, April 13, 2006. An empty sports gym inside a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, February 24, 2011. Graffiti of a girl an empty building in the abandoned town of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 31, 2006. Graffiti inside a building in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, March 31, 2011. Dolls placed by a visitor lie at beds at a kindergarten in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, April 5, 2017. A doll in a children's gas mask among beds at a kindergarten in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 28, 2016. A child’s shoe in a kindergarten in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, March 28, 2016.
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