With blazes burning at
temperatures of up to 5000 degrees Fahrenheit, the reactor was too hot to be
approached. Because of Soviet stonewalling, the world did not know that something
was wrong until two days later when technicians in Sweden discovered unusually
high levels of radiation in the air. The accident was not confirmed by the
Soviets until the evening of April 28, when a terse statement was read on Moscow
television by an expressionless telecaster. 
ABOVE:
Soviets worked heroically
to contain the damage
PHOTO: Igor Kostin
LEFT:
A satellite view three days
after the explosion
PHOTO: OCEAN EARTH CORPORATION
