Instagram influencers slammed for taking sick sexy selfies in Chernobyl nuclear death zone in desperate bid for ‘likes’
SOCIAL media influencers have been slammed for snapping sexy selfies in the Chernobyl death zone.
In recent days, snaps of a woman posing half naked in a g-string and a hazmet suit with another donning a helmet and white coat inside the Chernobyl nuclear plant control room have appeared online.
The site of the world's worst nuclear disaster has become a lewd hotspot for Instagram influencers to capture the perfect selfie in light of the recent gripping Sky/HBO series Chernobyl.
The modern recount which tells the true story of the nuclear power plant’s fallout has sparked a tourist boom.
But Craig Mazin, the writer of the series, took to Twitter to condemn tourist selfies.
Taking to Twitter he said: "If you visit, please remember that a terrible tragedy occurred here."
Others have criticised those posing for "insensitive" photos that disrespect the history and torment of the people who died or were forced to flee.
People died there in a very horrific way - have some respect."
Instagram follower
Commenters hit back online, describing the photos as "stupid" and "disrespectful in the extreme".
One person said: "People died there in a very horrific way - have some respect."
Another follower responded to a photo of Instagram user nz.nik posing with her bra and underwear, saying: "This photo is disrespectful to the people who lost their lives. How insensitive can you be?"
Others said the photos were "opportunistic" and "dumb".
All that remains since the 1986 catastrophic accident - which saw plumes of radioactive material decimate towns and animals nearby - is a haunting ghost town.
NUCLEAR DISASTER
An accident in the early hours of the morning of April 26 in 1986 led to a sudden and unexpected power surge and a series of explosions which released 400 times more radiation into the atmosphere than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
More than 100,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
The blast was the equivalent of 500 nuclear bombs.
The final death toll caused by the disaster is unknown, and widely disputed, with United Nations figures claiming 4,000 people have died as a result of the accident at most.
There's no denying the horrifying impact the radiation had on the people living in Pripyat - the city founded in 1970 to serve the Chernobyl power plant.
The areas surrounding the power plant - 350,000 people - weren't evacuated until 36 hours after the explosion, and in the period since some five million people have been exposed to radiation, living on contaminated land in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
TOURISM BOOM
Bookings in the area are said to be up 40 per cent, according to local travel agencies.
Yuriy Morozov, 42, a tour guide in the area, told The Sun that more visitors than ever are flocking to the disaster zone.
The dad of two said: “People want to see Chernobyl for themselves after the TV show. They are fascinated.”
A favourite spot for day trippers is an abandoned theme park, which was supposed to open a week after the disaster.
Its giant Ferris wheel is silhouetted against grey clouds and bumper cars rust and crumble.
RISE OF 'DARK TOURISM'
The unsavoury posts are part of a rise of "dark tourism" which sees tourists visit locations home to a dark past.
Tourists have also reportedly been visiting the dangerous Chernobyl radiation site to party at raves and enjoy group stag dos.
Though radiation levels have been passed safe for short periods inside the Exclusion Zone, hot spots still exist.
WHAT WAS THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER?
POWER PLANT MELTDOWN
An alarm bellowed out at the nuclear plant on April 26, 1986, as workers looked on in horror at the control panels signalling a major meltdown in the number four reactor.
The safety switches had been switched off in the early hours to test the turbine but the reactor overheated and generated a blast the equivalent of 500 nuclear bombs.
The reactor's roof was blown off and a plume of radioactive material was blasted into the atmosphere.
As air was sucked into the shattered reactor, it ignited flammable carbon monoxide gas causing a fire which burned for nine days.
The catastrophe released at least 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
EVACUATION
Soviet authorities waited 24 hours before evacuating the nearby town of Pripyat - giving the 50,000 residents just three hours to leave their homes.
After the accident traces of radioactive deposits were found in Belarus where poisonous rain damaged plants and caused animal mutations.
But the devastating impact was also felt in Scandinavia, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, France and the UK.
An 18-mile radius known as the “Exclusion Zone” was set up around the reactor following the disaster.
DEATH TOLL
At least 31 people died in the accident - including two who were killed at the scene and more who passed away a few months later from Acute Radiation Syndrome.
The actual death toll is hard to predict as mortality rates have been hidden by propaganda and reports were lost when the Soviet Union broke up.
In 2005, the World Health Organisation revealed a total of 4,000 people could eventually die of radiation exposure.
About 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer have been seen since the disaster - mainly in people who were children or teenagers at the time.
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