I think we should stop the test! Something isn't right!
NO! We have to continue!
Warning! DO NOT ENTER
Amidst the Cold War, the people of the Soviet Union are still living their normal, everyday lives and are running their errands on Saturday, April 25, 1986.
OH NO! THE PLANT IS ON FIRE!
WHAT HAVE WE DONE!
Leonid Toptunov heads into work for the midnight shift to switch out his coworker and conduct his first plant safety test.
Why is everyone leaving?
Leonid meets Anatoly Dyatlov, the man in charge of the unit, and starts the test. When the test starts to go bad, Anatoly insists on continuing.
On April 26th at approximately 1:00 a.m., the nuclear reactor exploded sending massive amounts of nuclear radiation into the air. The plant caught on fire and two people died inside the plant.
As the radiation spread into the city of Pripyat, people didn't know what happened and didn't start to evacuate until the beginning of dawn.
The explosion had a major impact on the rest of the world and Europe. A radioactive cloud surrounded Europe. It caused diseases like cancer and forced the relocation of over 300,000 people. This explosion played a big role in the fall of the Soviet Union.