The UN yesterday/ on Thursday marked the 26 years since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the worst nuclear accident of the 20^th century.

At a press conference, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon said of the occasion: “we remember the hundreds of emergency workers who risked their lives in responding to the accident; the more than 330,000 people who were evacuated from surrounding areas with little hope of return; the thousands of children who later contracted thyroid cancer; and the 6 million people still living in the affected areas of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine”. The Secretary-General once again called on the international community to continue to support the region affected by the nuclear disaster as they continue with their long-term efforts to recover and get back to normal.

The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on the 26 of April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine. An explosion and subsequent fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere. The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers.