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Chernobyl. 20 years later

Chernobyl. 20 years later.

Chernobyl. 20 years later.

Maria Shevchenko, 82, illegal resident of Ilyintsi village located inside the contaminated area surrounding the Chernobyl power plant, stands in her barn.

She does not have any relatives and could not find a place anywhere else, so she had to come back to Ilyintsi despite the government's order to leave the area.

April 26, 2006 marked 20th anniversary of the explosion at the nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl - the biggest technologic disaster in the history of humankind.

The plant is located 129 Km north of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev and has 4 reactors. The explosion occurred when numerous safety procedures were disregarded while testing the reactor number four.

At 1:23 am on April 26, 1986 a chain reaction in the reactor became uncontrollable, creating a series of explosions that killed more than 30 people immediately, while thousands died later from radiation sickness and other exposure-related diseases.

As a result of extreme radiation levels in the 30 Km radius around Chernobyl 135,000 people had to be evacuated.

Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later. Chernobyl. 20 years later.