If you’ve watched Chernobyl by now, good on you. If you haven’t, you probably know the bare basic story already, but you should still go check it out. The 5-episode series is a dramatic recreation of the worst man-made nuclear disaster ever, and its received critical acclaim. The makers spent 100s of hours going through actual footage of the containment efforts, and video essayist Thomas Flight made a comparison piece about how close the show is to the real thing.
Check out the images below, and you can watch Flight’s video at the end of this article.
Viktor Bryukhanov, Anatoly Dyatlov, and Nikolai Fomin being tried for their crimes.
Valery Legasov looking out over the disaster area.
The room where some of the world’s worst decisions were made.
Thanking the men who put their lives on the line to help in the clean-up efforts.
One of the first news reports announcing the explosion at Chernobyl.
Chilling footage of a helicopter that flew directly over the radiation cloud and crashed immediately after.
The one-tonne beams that were supposed to keep the reactor core in check.
The miners who worked in impossible conditions to build an underground tunnel, withstanding unbearable heat and high levels of radiation.
The head of the miners, making a call.
The lunar rover used to clear deadly debris from the top of the plant.
The clean-up crew working in the town of Pripyat.
More decontamination efforts in progress.
The judges who presided over the trial of the three who stood accused.
The ‘biorobots’ who had 90 seconds each to get graphite off the roof and run back down.
Placing the red flag indicating the roof had finally been cleared.
Watch the video by Thomas Flight below.