Ukraine: Chernobyl nuclear disaster marks 34th anniversary with recent wildfires causing radiation spike

M/S Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
W/S Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
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Aerial footage from Saturday shows Chernobyl’s fourth reactor on the 34th anniversary of the worst nuclear disaster in history, where the series of explosions occurred back in 1986.
This year the Exclusion Zone has experienced one of the largest fire waves in the area, with radiation levels spiking above normal in some of the wildfire areas.
The footage shows the zone around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant with trees smoldering after the fires.
Due to the abnormally dry and windy weather, this year's forest fires were breaking out around the zone for two weeks. Since the beginning of April, more than a thousand firefighters with helicopters and planes struggled to extinguish the fires. Some areas can still be seen smoldering.
A series of explosions and subsequent fire at Chernobyl's number four reactor on April 26, 1986, released radioactive fallout which also spread to neighboring countries.
More than eight million people were exposed to elevated levels of radiation as a result of the disaster.
To date, Chernobyl is still considered to be the worst civic nuclear accident in human history. The immediate death toll from the accident itself was around 30 people, while thousands have since suffered radiation-related illnesses such as cancer and infant deformities.