KIEV (voa) – Ukrainian health officials are expressing concern over the increasing number of Chernobyl-related cancer cases as the country remembers Friday’s 16th anniversary of the world’s most serious civilian nuclear accident.
On April 26, 1986, an explosion destroyed a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine spreading a radioactive cloud across much of Europe.
The true casualty toll in the years since has been a matter of intense controversy. Chernobyl has been blamed for thousands of deaths in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and other countries. Experts estimate that up to 30,000 people may have died from illnesses resulting from the disaster.
Ukrainian health ministry officials say such illnesses as thyroid cancer have risen dramatically in recent years.
The last working reactor at the Chernobyl plant, located north of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, was finally shut down in December 2000.
