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The clean-up of Chernobyl
Witness History
Apr 23, 2026

The disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Ukraine, on 26 April 1986, was the world’s worst nuclear accident.

The explosion in reactor four caused radioactive parts to be spread over the nearby area.

Hundreds of thousands of people were involved in the decontamination efforts, including soldiers and workers at the power station. They were known as the liquidators.

Some even had to run out onto the roof of the reactors to clear debris which had been scattered from the radioactive core.

Yurіy Skaletskyy was a radiological officer in the Soviet Navy. He monitored the radiation exposure faced by the liquidators and tells Tim O'Callaghan how workers improvised their own protective gear using sheets of lead foil.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

(Photo: The liquidators on the roof of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Credit: Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

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Apr 22, 2026
Canada's war in the woods

In 1993, plans to log one of Canada’s ancient rainforests sparked the country’s largest act of civil disobedience.

It was known as the war in the woods. For months, protesters blocked a remote logging road on Vancouver Island, leading to more than a thousand arrests.

Megan Lawton speaks to protest organiser Tzeporah Berman who, aged 23, was arrested and charged with 857 criminal counts.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

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(Photo: Protesters sat disrupting the loggers. Credit: Jacob Sutton/Getty Images)


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Apr 21, 2026
Europe’s long drought of 2011

In 2011, after months of little or no rain in central and eastern Europe, water levels on some parts of the Danube River fell to their lowest level in 70 years.

It’s one of Europe’s busiest shipping routes, but in November of that year, traffic ground to a halt on major sections of the Danube, and, on the Serbia-Hungary border, dozen of cargo ships were stranded.

In Romania, one of the country’s nuclear power stations was at risk of shutdown because of insufficient water for cooling, and, in Serbia, the drought revealed sunken World War Two ships and unexploded bombs.

In the lower Danube, low water levels also caused a decrease in bird and fish populations.

Kristian Yakimov, an ecologist and tourist guide in Bulgaria, speaks to Jacqueline Paine.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

(Photo: Cracked, muddy ground at the river bank of the Danube river. Credit: Alexanda Rilich/Getty Images)


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Apr 20, 2026
Mymba Kuera: The race to save wildlife at the Itaipu dam

In October 1982, Paraguay and Brazil closed the gates of the Itaipu River, beginning to fill the reservoir of what would soon be the world's largest dam. Located in a rainforest on the border between the two countries, the Itaipu dam would go on to supply vast amounts of energy for decades. But the rising waters also put thousands of animals at risk, as their habitat was flooded.

To mitigate this, the company launched one of the largest wildlife rescue operations in South America. It was called Mymba Kuera - 'the animals' in Guarani, the local language.

Dario Perez Chena led the operation on the Paraguayan side. He speaks to Stefania Gozzer about the challenges his team faced in saving nearly 30,000 animals.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines' life and Omar Sharif's legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives' ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

(Photo: A rescue team trying to grab a monkey. Credit: Itaipu Binacional)


10min 51sec

The clean-up of Chernobyl

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