Photo gallery: Chernobyl, Ukraine 30 years later

epa05277521 Ukrainians light candles near the memorial for ‘liquidators’ who died during cleaning up works after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, during a ceremony in Slavutich city, some 190 km north of the capital Kiev, Ukraine, early 26 April 2016. In the early hours of 26 April 1986 the Unit 4 reactor at the Chernobyl power station blew apart. Facing nuclear disaster on unprecedented scale Soviet authorities tried to contain the situation by sending thousands of ill-equipped men into a radioactive maelstrom. The men barely lasted more than a few weeks suffering lingering painful deaths. The explosion of Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is still regarded the biggest accident in the history of nuclear power generation. Ukrainians mark the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl’s tragedy on 26 April 2016. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO ** Usable by LA, CT and MoD ONLY **  (SERGEY DOLZHENKO / EPA)

A elderly woman carries a portrait of her relative, a victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, at the Chernobyl victims’ memorial in Kiev, Ukraine, on April 26, 2016.

Candles set in the shape of a radiation hazard symbol are seen on a square next to the monument to Chernobyl victims in Slavutich, Ukraine, on April 26, 2016.

A woman cries at the Chernobyl victims’ memorial in Kiev, Ukraine, on April 26, 2016.

Former liquidators of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in wheelchairs attend a commemoration ceremony at the Chernobyl victims’ memorial in Kiev, Ukraine, on April 26, 2016.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016, workers build an arch-shape confinement that will be moved on rails over the sarcophagus and reactor building damaged by explosion, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine.

This photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016 shows abandoned apartment buildings in the town of Pripyat near Chernobyl, Ukraine, with a chimney, left, at the destroyed reactor and a gigantic arch-shape confinement to cover the remnants of the exploded reactor, in the back, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016, a worker passes by a storage facility under construction for nuclear waste at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine. When a new structure will be installed over the sarcophagus and reactor building, robotic machinery inside the structure will begin dismantling the sarcophagus and the destroyed reactor and gather up the wastes to be transported to a nearby storage facility. Under current plans, that process is expected to begin in 2017.

This photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016 shows a storage of the nuclear waste taken from the 4th unit damaged by the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Chernobyl, Ukraine.

ADVANCE FOR MONDAY, APRIL 18, CHERNOBYL - 30 YEARS LATER - In this photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016, a worker checks the radiation level on barrels in a storage of nuclear waste taken from the 4th unit destroyed by explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Chernobyl, Ukraine.

This photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016 shows a monument to workers of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, who died in the 1986 catastrophe, at the entrance to the plant, Chernobyl, Ukraine.

This photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016 shows the old sarcophagus, right, over the reactor building damaged by explosion and a new confinement, left, under construction at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Chernobyl, Ukraine. When the new structure, which resembles a 30-story Quonset hut, is finished, it is to be slowly moved on rails over the sarcophagus and reactor building.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016, constructors work close to the old sarcophagus, in the background, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016 workers build an arch-shape confinement that will be moved on rails over the sarcophagus and reactor building damaged by explosion, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016 workers build an arch-shape confinement that will be installed over the sarcophagus and reactor building damaged by explosion, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 23, 2016, a laboratory worker checks the radiation level on samples taken from the 4th unit destroyed by explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Chernobyl, Ukraine.

FILE - This is a1986 file photo of the aerial view of the reactor four at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine shows damage from an explosion and fire on April 26, 1986 that sent large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere.