Haunting photos show dozens of gas masks littering Chernobyl as nature reclaims nuclear plant blast site

Harrowing pictures show what is left of the towns of Chernobyl and Pripyat in Ukraine more than three decades after nuclear disaster.

A cemetery in Pripyat where the dead lay abandoned, much like the town. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

Eerie photographs taken recently show how nature is reclaiming an abandoned town 33 years after the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.

The harrowing pictures show what is left of the towns of Chernobyl and Pripyat in Ukraine, with gasmasks scattered about and dolls left abandoned in a day care centre.

Other captivating photos show an abandoned supermarket with a shopping trolley outside and a rusting bumper car.

Dutch photographer Erwin Zwaan, 47, travelled to the 28-kilometre exclusion zone around Chernobyl in Northern Ukraine in 2016 and 2018 to photograph the ghostly ruins for his book Chernobyl - 30+ Years Without Humans.

The power plant and nearby town Pripyat — once home to 50,000 people — remain more or less untouched three decades after they were evacuated in 1986.

Old gasmasks left sitting on a school desk in an abandoned classroom. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

Pripyat's funfair was due for a grand opening just days after disaster struck. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

Dozens of Cold War gasmasks line the floor in an elementary school. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

The skeletal remains of an old supermarket. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

“Chernobyl is unlike any other place,” Zwaan explained.

“It’s surreal, impressive, sad, but also beautiful. You’re roaming around in an area where chapters ended and at the same time new chapters started.

“Nature took over and is doing very well. I don’t think there is any other place that has so many sides to just as many stories.”

Chernobyl was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster when the No. 4 reactor overheated during a bungled safety test in the early hours of April 26, 1986.

The explosion and fire that raged for nine days sent radioactive particles into the atmosphere that spread across Europe.

Invasive plants are beginning to take a stranglehold on the buildings in the area. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

Nature is slowly reclaiming the landscape after the disaster in 1986. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

Beds in a former day care centre slowly rust away. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

A long-forgotten potted plant shows that life finds a way. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

A rare photograph of one of Pripyat's more remote schools. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

An iconic radiation warning sign. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

Stacks of dusty paperwork are visible across the region. Picture: Erwin Zwaan

At least 31 people died — including two at the scene and dozens more who succumbed to radiation sickness in the following weeks — but the number of deaths including from cancer could eventually hit 4000.

For Zwaan, who focused more on his photography after almost losing his sight when he was 32, it is important to remember the repercussions of the horrendous nuclear catastrophe.

“The message I try to convey in this book is to raise awareness to this disaster that still goes on today,” added Zwaan, who used his Canon EOS 5D Mark 3 and Mark 4 for the shots.

Nowadays, more than 10,000 tourists explore the disaster site every year.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission