The Disaster In Film

When you see photos of the Chernobyl reactor now, you really don't understand just how horrible and deadly the disaster really was. Wrapped up in its sarcophagus, it looks like any other industrial building - a cool private property surrounded by tall cement walls topped by razor wire and heavily guarded by security. The kind of place any urban explorer would love to get into. If you weren't aware of the history - and kids born in the 90s probably aren't - there's nothing here to really give you a sense of the mighty disaster that could have torn the world apart.

There's a short film on YouTube that was shot by filmmaker Vladimir Shevchenko, one of the first on the scene at the disaster in April 1986. His images are haunting - they show the panic as people try to deal with the explosion, working in extreme radiation conditions either without protective gear or with just paper masks to keep them safe. Shevchenko died several weeks after shooting the film from radiation exposure. His name never made it among the official casualties list.