Oleg Genrikh, former operator of the fourth power unit at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, shared his memories of the fateful day 40 years ago. The man was working at the station on the night of the disaster, preparing for scheduled maintenance. He was in the technical room directly behind the control room when the first explosion occurred.
— At about 1:23, by a twist of fate, I entered the art room. This saved me… Then there was an explosion, a strong jolt, and everything hissed and poured. The pitch was black. “Everything around me jumped up, and I fell too,” Heinrich said.
He pointed out that station employees were not aware of any experiment. A few seconds later, a second, stronger explosion occurred. Heinrich heard the groans of his comrade Anatoly Korguz, who was in the control room.
“I opened the door and steam hit me. He is completely burned, only his face is intact. There is no skin on the hands; everything is curled up, like paper that has been set on fire. I feel that a painful shock has already struck him – he starts talking. I said to him: ‘Tulya, let’s get down somehow to the zero mark, to the floor!'” said the former operator.
Heinrich added that he suffered burns, the consequences of which he is still feeling National News Service.
The largest man-made disaster in terms of scale of damage and consequences occurred on April 26, 1986, exactly 40 years ago. On this day, at exactly one hour, 23 minutes and 40 seconds, an explosion occurred in the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located on the territory of Ukraine, 15 kilometers from the city of Chernobyl in the Kiev region.