Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown

On April 26th, 1986, a safety test at unit number four of the Chernobyl power station triggered the worst nuclear accident in history. The massive explosion and resulting fire released more than 400 times more radiation into the atmosphere than the Hiroshima bomb. It was a global catastrophe – a radioactive cloud spread across Europe and eventually circled the world. This landmark series on the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster tells the full story from the meltdown to the KGB cover-up, right up to the present-day war in Ukraine, revealing how a nuclear exclusion zone became a war zone. With powerful interviews from survivors who have never spoken in public before, and unique insights into the Western and Soviet response, this series provides a new perspective on a story riddled with intrigue, deception and tragedy.

Some flashing lights sequences or patterns may affect photosensitive viewers.