A gymnasium in a school in the deserted town of Pripyat, about 2 miles from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Ukraine. Once home to some 50,000 people whose lives were connected to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Pripyat was hastily evacuated one day after a reactor at the plant 2 miles away exploded on April 26, 1986. The explosion and the subsequent fire spewed a radioactive plume over much of northern Europe.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
A central square in the deserted town of Pripyat,bout 2 miles from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Ukraine.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
An edition of the newspaper Sovetsky Patriot, dated three days before the nuclear explosion, is attached to a bulletin board in a house of culture in the deserted town of Pripyat.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
People lay flowers to honor the memory of the victims of the Chernobyl disaster in Kiev, Ukraine. Ukraine marked the 31st anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion.
Sergei Chuzavkov/Associated Press
Ukrainians light candles at the memorial to the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, in Kiev, Ukraine, on Wednesday. Ukraine marked the 31st anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion.
Sergei Chuzavkov/Associated Press
A radioactivity sign stands in the ground, outside Chernobyl, Ukraine. April 26 marks the 31st anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
Journalists take a selfie in front of the monument of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in Chernobyl, Ukraine. April 26 marks the 31st anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. A reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded on April 26, 1986, leading to an explosion and the subsequent fire spewed a radioactive plume over much of northern Europe.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
A decrepit piano stands in a school in the deserted town of Pripyat.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
A broken clock hangs on a wall in a school in the deserted town of Pripyat, about 2 miles from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Ukraine.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
A bulletin board with pictures of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin hangs on a wall in a school in the deserted town of Pripyat, about 2 miles from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Ukraine.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
A room in a dilapidated building, part of a school in the deserted town of Pripyat, about 2 miles from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Ukraine.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
Small trees grow on a balcony in the deserted town of Pripyat, about 2 miles from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Ukraine.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
A new shelter is installed over the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine. April 26 marks the 31st anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
PRIPYAT, Ukraine – A bulletin board in the Ukrainian town of Pripyat still bears an edition of the Sovietsky Patriot newspaper, dated three days before the nuclear explosion that turned the city into one of the world’s most baleful ghost towns.
Once home to some 50,000 people whose lives were connected to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Pripyat was hastily evacuated one day after a reactor at the plant 2 miles away exploded on April 26, 1986. The explosion and the subsequent fire spewed a radioactive plume over much of northern Europe.
Once a model Soviet workers’ town – neat high-rise apartment buildings and streets converging on a plaza that housed a hotel and a cultural center – Pripyat is now a model of technology gone catastrophically wrong. As such, it’s become a tourist destination, alluring to those whose bucket-list includes a taste of danger.
Tourist companies offer day trips to Pripyat and the area around the plant, where radiation levels have receded enough to make brief visits tolerable. The levels are still high enough that no one is allowed to reside permanently within an 18-mile radius of the plant.
Every year, nature takes back a little more of Pripyat. The buildings’ roofs sprout small trees, their floors and walls deteriorate slowly from rain, snow and changing temperatures.
Most of the buildings are in such decay that visitors are advised not to enter them, a caution that many ignore.
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