International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day observed on April 26

Key facts

• International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day is observed annually on April 26.
• The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2016 to mark the anniversary of the 1986 nuclear accident.
• The nuclear accident occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
• The disaster was caused by a routine safety test that led to a power surge and explosions destroying the No. 4 reactor.
• The radiation from the accident spread across Europe and the Soviet Union, affecting Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.
• The UNGA adopted resolution 71/125 on December 8, 2016, to officially designate April 26 as the remembrance day.
• The first official observance of the day took place in 2017.
• The term liquidators refers to the firefighters, soldiers, and volunteers who worked to contain the radiation and build the initial sarcophagus over the damaged reactor.