officials with their first glimpse of the devastation wrought by the Chernobyl disaster. Soviet officials admit that there’s been an accident, but they falsely state the situation is under control.Īpril 29, 1986: Spy satellite photos provide U.S. He later dies of radiation poisoning.Īpril 28, 1986: Swedish air monitors detect a large amount of radiation in the atmosphere, which is traced back to the USSR. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the nuclear engineer in charge of the test insists that reactor No. Walls and equipment collapse, and dozens of fires start up, including one on top of the neighboring reactor. A blackout roils the plant as the air fills with dust and graphite chunks, and radiation begins spewing out. Patrick Landmann/Getty Images An Unexpected Power Surge Triggers DisasterĪpril 26, 1986, 1:23:04 a.m.: The test officially begins, and an unexpected power surge occurs.Īpril 26, 1986, 1:23:40 a.m.: An operator presses the emergency shutdown button, but the control rods jam as they enter the core.Īpril 26, 1986, 1:23:58 a.m.: The first explosion, to be quickly followed by at least one more, blows the 1,000-ton roof right off the reactor and shoots a fireball high into the night sky. Reactor unit 4 was the one that blew up on April 26, 1986.
The control panel of reactor unit 4 inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone and nuclear power plant in 2006.