Today in History: Revisiting the timeline of the worst nuclear disaster in history
On this day 32 years ago, the Chernobyl disaster began with an explosion in Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
In the early hours of the morning of 26 April 1986, an explosion in Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant marked the beginning of what would become the worst nuclear disaster in history.
Thousands of people in the immediate area were almost instantaneously infected with radiation illnesses caused by radiation leaking as a result of the explosion.
The severity of the incident was not picked up from the outset, with many not realising that Reactor 4’s core was damaged.
Numerous fires began around the plant after the explosion and the subsequent ash was blown into the air, infecting tens of thousands of people all around Europe.
The Ukrainian government predicted that the entire clean-up would be complete by 2065
Let’s revisit the worst nuclear disaster ever by taking a look back at the timeline pre-, during and post-explosion:
February 1986
Ukraine’s Minister of Power and Electrification, Vitali Sklyarov, says the odds of a meltdown at Chernobyl are “one in 10 000 years”
25 April
Plant operators prepare to conduct a test of the emergency water cooling system
26 April
1.23am: Test begins
1.24am: Pressure in Reactor 4 due to steam, subsequently causing explosion. Oxygen pours into the reactor, igniting a fire due to a chemical reaction with the graphite
1.26am: Fire alarm goes off
1.45am: Firefighters arrive
2.10am: Turbine hall roof fire extinguished
2.30am: Main reactor hall roof fires extinguished
3.12am: Alarm goes off at army base in Soviet Union. General sends troops
3.30am: Firefighters from Kiev arrive
5am: Reactor 3 is shut down. Reactors 1 and 2 shut down approximately 24 hours later
6.35am: Fires extinguished. Only remaining fire, which would burn for several days, was inside Reactor 4
9am: Chairman of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR, Valentyna Shevchenko, received a phone call from Ukraine’s acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Vasyl Durdynets. In the call he only briefly mentioned a fire at Chernobyl, but stated it had been extinguished and that everything was fine. When Shevchenko asked about the people, Durdynets said there’s nothing to be concerned about
2pm: Soviet firefighters arrive in Kiev
Later: A commission is set up to investigate the incident. They arrive at the plant during the evening of 26 April. Two people had already died and 52 hasd been hospitalised
27 April
Early hours: The commission orders the evacuation of Pripyat. It was originally only supposed to last three days
11am: Buses arrive in Pripyat to begin evacuation
2pm: Evacuation begins
3pm: 53 000 citizens successfully evacuated
28 April
Time unknown: Exclusion zone is extended to 10km (later extended to 30km, where it remains today)
Morning: Radiation sets off alarms at the Swedish Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant (over 1 000km from Chernobyl)
9.02am: A 20-second announcement about the incident was made on national television
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