Ukraine marks 30 years since Chernobyl catastrophe

Ukrainians held candlelit vigils Tuesday to mark 30 years since the world's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl spewed radiation across Europe and left several thousand people dead or dying. Church bells rang and mourners lit candles and laid flowers at the site's memorial as the clock turned 1.23 am -- the exact moment when the plant's reactor number four exploded and changed the fate of a generation living across the former Soviet Union. The exact number of dead remains a subject of intense debate because the Soviet authorities kept most of the information about Chernobyl under wraps.

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