Ukraine, Belarus leaders mark Chernobyl anniversary

The presidents of Ukraine and Belarus toured the site of the Chernobyl plant to mark 31 years since the world's worst civil nuclear accident spewed radiation across Europe.


The plant in the north of former Soviet Ukraine exploded in 1986 after a safety test went wrong at 1.23am on 26 April.

Around 30 people were killed on site and several thousand more are feared to have died in the years that followed from radiation poisoning across Ukraine as well as its northern neighbour Belarus and Russia to the east.

The exact number of victims remains a subject of intense debate because the Soviet authorities kept most of the information about the disaster hidden.
  [rte.ie]
26/4/17