33 years ago a similar day started in the same way, with bright sunrise, trees turning green, people making plans... However, for many residents of the south-eastern part of Belarus the day of 26 April 1986 divided life before and after. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant became one of the most serious man-made catastrophes of the last century. About 23% of the territory of Belarus was subjected to radioactive fallout. The invisible threat forced thousands of locals to leave their native places. Bragin District was among the worst hit districts. A total of 118 out of 138 settlements were contaminated with radiation there. Residents of more than 50 villages were resettled. Nine of those villages were buried. BelTA correspondents went to the exclusion zone to see Solnechny, the town where life stopped in late April 1986.
Photos by Sergei Kholodilin
