CatersAn urban explorer discovered a skeleton while documenting his visit to the abandoned Chernobyl site.
Neil Ansell, also known as the Abandoned Explorer, makes videos about his adventures in empty buildings, forgotten places, theme parks, mansions and theatres.
He recently visited the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, where a nuclear reactor exploded in 1986. 28 people died of acute radiation poisoning in the aftermath and the entire site was abandoned as a result of radioactivity.
Take a look at what the explorer found during his visit:
Neil was able to access the one of the water towers which would have been used to cool some of the nuclear reactors, as well as nuclear reactor five, one of the Chernobyl reactors which was never used.
From the top of reactor five the 28-year-old could see the huge sarcophagus which was constructed to cover reactor four, where the explosion took place.
As he explored the site, Neil came across some bones scattered on the ground next to a safety helmet and a gas mask, a sight which brings the chilling image of a deceased worker to mind.
CatersIn the video, the Brit could be heard joking the skeleton belonged to ‘the Chernobyl giant’ who used to live there, however he went on to say the bones actually probably came from an animal.
He said:
I don’t know what kind of animal that would have been.
Whatever it was had really thick bones. It’s just a really weird place to see a load of bones.
Neil went on to explore reactor five, which was around 70 per cent complete at the time of the explosion. Construction was abandoned after the incident and the explorer could see a forgotten, collapsed crane around the half-finished structure.
He was surprised to see trees growing around the unused reactor but was even more baffled by the sight of a dog trotting towards him on the roof, which he’d had to climb a questionable ladder to access.
Animals in the area surrounding reactor four, known as the exclusion zone, were ordered to be killed after the explosion to prevent the spread of radiation, however there are a number of strays in the area now.
People visiting the zone have been warned not to pet the animals over fears of radioactive contamination but a non-profit group called the Clean Futures Fund (CFF) works to help the stray dogs of Chernobyl by encouraging people to adopt to them.
As well as reactor five, Neil explored an abandoned village in the exclusion zone and the basement of Pripyat hospital, where firefighters who responded to the explosion left their radioactive clothing.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.