Pripyat City Hospital № 126

Pripyat City Hospital № 126 was once a busy hospital on the outskirts of the city. It’s located on Druzhby Narodov Street, next to the first microdistrict. The hospital wing is part of some healthcare-related complex named МСЧ-126.

On the roof of the hospital, a sign reads: Health of the Nation—the Country’s Wealth. The hospital had 410 beds. The clinics and outpatient buildings are spread out across various interconnected buildings. Complex МСЧ-126 also had a morgue, maternity ward, infectious disease ward, and dental clinic.

It was here, where on the night of the Chernobyl disaster at the nearby nuclear power plant, many firefighters and workers were initially treated. In the aftermath of the accident, 237 people suffered from acute radiation sickness. 28 died, according to the World Health Organization’s 2006 report, within the first three months. The victims were mostly firemen and rescue workers. Their clothes still remain in the hospital basement, too contaminated to be moved. Later, patients were flown to Moscow, which had the only hospital in the Soviet Union to treat radiation injuries.

Tools, medical instruments, and documents were left in a mess everywhere. Radiation levels here are high; the basement of the hospital is considered the most dangerous place in Pripyat. The hospital was abandoned the days after the disaster. It was no longer possible to work in an environment with that much radioactivity inside.