Chernobyl disaster 25 years (31 photos)

April 26, 1986, an explosion occurred on the fourth unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. The reactor was completely destroyed, and the environment were released large quantities of radioactive substances. The accident is regarded as the largest of its kind in the history of nuclear power, both on the estimated number of dead and injured from the consequences of its people and economic damage. At the time of the Chernobyl accident was the most powerful in the USSR. 31 people died in the first three months after the accident; long-term effects of radiation detected over the next 15 years, have caused the deaths of 60 to 80 people. 134 people suffered from radiation sickness varying degrees of severity, more than 115 thousand. People from the 30-km zone were evacuated.