On Sunday, Ukraine marks the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Reactor number 4 at the power plant exploded on April 26, 1986, releasing radioactive material that spread across large parts of Europe.
The official death toll from the incident—known as Chornobyl in Ukrainian—stands at 31. However, the long-term impact remains hotly debated and difficult to measure. In 2005, a United Nations study estimated that 4,000 people could ultimately die as a result of the accident, while other assessments suggest a much higher toll.
BBC correspondent Jessica Parker recently visited the abandoned city of Pripyat, which once housed Chernobyl’s workers and their families. The city was evacuated shortly after the explosion and has remained a ghost town ever since.
Pripyat, now a stark symbol of the disaster, offers a haunting glimpse into a world frozen in time. The BBC’s report captures the eerie silence of empty streets, decaying buildings, and the lingering legacy of one of history’s worst nuclear accidents.