You can now visit the epicentre of the Chernobyl disaster

The Ukrainian government are now allowing tourists to visit the infamous control room at Chernobyl for the first time since the disaster.

According to Reuters, following the release of the HBO mini-series named after the event, the area saw a boom in tourists interested in visiting the area. As a result, Ukrainian authorities are planning 21 new tourist routes in Chernobyl, which will include a visit to the Unit 4 control room.

Unit 4 control room before the Chernobyl disaster. @notasausage/Twitter

Unit 4 Control room after the Chernobyl disaster. @Chernobylguide/Twitter

It was from this control room that engineers made the fatal errors which resulted in the explosion of the reactors core, creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster in history. According to National Geographic, 335,000 people were evacuated from the 31km-wide ‘exclusion zone.’ There is debate around how many people died as a result of the accident. Official reports  state that 31 people died as an immediate result of the disaster. Total figures of deaths related to the disaster are unclear, with some researchers estimating around 4,000 people died as a result of radiation exposure.

Despite the fact that scientists have estimated that due to the radiation levels still present, the area won’t be habitable for another 20,000 years, this has not stopped interested tourists from making their way through the deserted town on the reactors borders with geiger counter’s in hand.

It comes as no surprise then that officials won’t allow visitors to stay int he control room very long, as it’s one of the closest locations to the epicentre of this disaster. Since the room as 40,000 times the normal levels of radiation, visitors will only be allowed into it for only 5 minutes wearing hazmat suits for protection.

Image source: ChernobylGuide/Twitter

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