Chernobyl: April 26, 1986
What happened ????
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster
April 26, 1986, a very ordinary day in Ukraine. In Pripyat, 18 kilometers northwest of Chernobyl where nuclear reactor number 4 was running, a test would be carried out. To perform this test the safety systems had to be switched off. The test ended in an complete disaster. The technicians switched off the reactor too quickly and lost control of the nuclear reactor which quickly overheated. The fire rods of the reactor melted and the steam pressure rose. It was at that time 01.24 hrs when the roof of the reactor was blown away by the steam blast. After a few seconds, a second explosion followed. Clouds with 190 tons of radioactive radiation were released. Soon the local fire brigade was called to extinguish the fire. When the fire was extinguished, a burning crater remained with temperatures of 2500 degrees Celsius. Because the firefighters were exposed to a huge amount of radiation, they became ill within a few hours and died all within a few days
The Chernobyl incident of 26 avril 1986 - Time table
01.23.40 hours an operator pressed button AZ-5 for a quick emergency stop,
01:24.00 Two explosions in unit 4
01:26.00 Fire alarm in the power plant
01:28.00 Arrival of the fire department of the power station
01:35.00 Arrival of the fire department of Pripyat
02:10.00 Fire extinguished in the turbine space
05:00.00 Chemical brigade of the army arrives at the site and makes radiation measurements
06:35.00 All fires have been extinguished, except the destroyed reactor that will remain on until May 10
