Belarus remembering Chernobyl tragedy

38 years ago, a major man-made disaster occurred, which divided the lives of millions of people into before and after. The radioactive cloud affected over 20 countries. But Belarus suffered the most. Almost a quarter of the entire territory was contaminated. Over half a million people took part in eliminating the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The first to encounter an invisible but deadly danger were the nuclear plant employees themselves, as well as the rescuers, who shut down equipment, cleared debris, extinguished fires, and did much more. One of the first rescuers to arrive at the scene of the tragedy was 25-year-old Vasily Ignatenko, a native of Gomel region. The commander of the Pripyat paramilitary fire department received lethal doses of radiation. Paying tribute to the memory, Belarusian rescuers will hold a mourning meeting at the Ignatenko memorial on this day.