Nelson, the correspondent, shows the giant "sarcophagus" of Chernobyl containing the world's most dangerous nuclear waste

After having made the first transmission for Argentina of the exclusion zone of Chernobyl and visit the ghost town of Pripyat Nelson Castro shows the imposing "sarcophagus" which contains the most dangerous nuclear waste in the world, as a result of the explosion of the Ukrainian factory of April 26, 1986.

The huge container covers the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which exploded during a routine test and this caused a real disaster, a fire that lasted nine days and caused a catastrophe with unimaginable limits.

The "sarcophagus" costs billions of dollars and is gigantic: it is 108 meters high, 162 long, has a bow of 275 meters and weighs 36,000 tons. It will have a life of 100 years, but it will not even be small enough, because it is estimated that the radiation emanating from the place will last at least 100,000 years.

They work there about 3,000 people, for only four days, then leave. Silence reigns instead, in a scenario very different from that of 33 years ago, when the area was very populous.

The monument to the victims of the explosion of the reactor

Instead is a monument inaugurated in 2006, while it was 20 years since the tragedy did not stop touching the world. The sculpture is from two hands holding the reactor, in which appears a ray that symbolizes the explosion of the nuclear power plant. In addition, there are plaques in tribute to the courageous who gave their lives to save the world, after the explosion of the reactor.

Nelson in the ghost town of Pripyat, the amusement park that was not

In the previous Nelson, he went to Pripyat and He walked the streets of the so-called "ghost town". The effects of the worst nuclear accident in history are reflected in every corner of the city, which has been completely evacuated 36 hours after the explosion in the Ukrainian factory.

The city was founded on February 4, 1970 to accommodate the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and he came to welcome more than 40,000 people, during his 16 years of history. He is today sorry and covered by vegetation.

Located just three kilometers from the nuclear power plant, Pripyat was renowned for its bright signs and ceramic decorations on the facades of its buildings. In addition, the architects responsible for its construction had the intention of integrating nature into the urban landscape.

With the Energetik Cultural Center, Lenin Boulevard and the administrative building, the Pripyat cafe was one of the most remarkable places. But after the Chernobyl disaster, the radiation levels on this site exceeded by four to five times the limits allowed by Ukrainian law. The region is therefore deserted.

Chernobyl today, in photos: abandonment and desolation

The postcards seen during the first trips to Chernobyl are painful: abandoned houses, marked by the forced evacuation of 1986; residents who resist in solitude and animals that survive the radioactivity.