Chernobyl at risk of 'catastrophic' collapse as haunting new images of nuclear site emerge

Eerie - Inside the control room of the no longer working reactor 3 (Image:Genya SAVILOV / AFP via Getty Images)Chernobyl at risk of 'catastrophic' collapse as haunting new images of nuclear site emergeIt's nearly 40 years since the world’s most terrifying nuclear disaster and rare access in side the stricken plant show how it looks todayByJohnny GoldsmithPicture Editor09:55, 14 Apr 2026|commentsAs the war in Ukraine continues to rage, haunting new images have emerged from inside the site of the world’s most terrifying nuclear catastrophe. AFP photographer Genya Savilov alongside Greenpeace have been given rare access inside the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history. An uncontrolled collapse of the internal radiation shell at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine could increase the risk of radioactivity release in the environment, Greenpeace have warned. Our gallery reveals the eerie reality of the plant today, nearly 40 years after the 1986 explosion sent radioactive fallout spewing across the globe. It was on 26th April 1986 when an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing into the atmosphere. Dozens of people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands.1 of 14Chornobyl's deputy technical director for radioactive waste management Oleksandr Skomarokhov, uses a phone in the control room of the no longer working reactor 3 (Image:AFP via Getty Images)2 of 14A panel in the control room of the no longer working reactor 3 (Image:AFP via Getty Images)3 of 14A shot inside the control room of the no longer working reactor 3 (Image:AFP via Getty Images)4 of 14A radioactivity sign on a panel in the control room of the destroyed 4th block of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Image:AFP via Getty Images)5 of 14Engineers speak in front of monitors in the control room of the New Saf...