Ukraine marks 40 years of Chernobyl disaster

SLAVUTYCH, Ukraine — People streamed into the central square of Slavutych in the early hours of Sunday, placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol laid out on the ground as a midnight commemoration began for those killed in the Chernobyl disaster 40 years ago and the thousands who risked deadly radiation exposure to contain its aftermath.

Residents show up for the vigil each year to commemorate the April 26, 1986, disaster. That day, Reactor No 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine exploded, releasing more than 8 tons of highly radioactive material.