The 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster (17 images)

Even after the ongoing tragedy at the Fukushima reactor in Japan, the explosion and subsequent fire at the Chernobyl plant still ranks as the worst in history. The plant was in Pripyat, a now abandoned city in the modern Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. The death toll from the accident and radiation varies from a 4,000 individual estimate from the World Health Organization to about 200,000 from Greenpeace.

Construction of the "sarcophagus" at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, following the explosion on April 26, 1986. UPI/INS

License photo | Permalink

---

---

Aftermath of the explosion in unit four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine on April 26, 1986. UPI/INS

License photo | Permalink

---

---

This Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper image shows the area in which the damaged Chernobyl nuclear power plant is located. This photo was taken at approximately 9:45 a.m. Kiev time on April 29, 1986. The plant, damaged by the accident on April 26, 1986, is located at the left side of the cooling pond in the center of the rectangular shaped area just at the end of the watercooling inlet. UPI

License photo | Permalink

---

---

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine, following the April 26, 1986 explosion. UPI/INS

License photo | Permalink

---

---