Harrowing footage shows helicopter crashing over Chernobyl's core reactor in 1986

**Warning: Distressing Content**

Shocking footage filmed in 1986 shows the moment a helicopter flipped upside down and crashed as it flew over Chernobyl's core reactor.

The unnerving footage, filmed from the ground, showed the helicopter dropping what looked to be liquid as it flew over the reactor before disaster struck.

There were countless disasters and casualties that took occurred after the 1968 explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, when massive amounts of radiation were released into the environment.

The operation to stop the leak of radiation went on for months after the event, and it was during these months that an MI-8 Hip helicopter flew over the site.

During the operation, the helicopter got too close to a crane which stood over the reactor and crashed, with the impact causing the aircraft to flip upside down before falling into the remains of the reactor.

The propellors broke off during the collision, and all of those on board were killed.

Horizon Images/Motion / Alamy Stock Photo

The harrowing disaster was mirrored in HBO's retelling of the events in the 2019 series Chernobyl, which recreated scenes almost identical to those caught by Ukranian director Vladimir Shevchenko.

Shevchenko gained access to the remains of the Chernobyl power plant to capture footage for a documentary in 1986, with Dr Claire Corkhill, a nuclear waste disposal expert, later commending the HBO series for its realism.

During an appearance on This Morning, she commented: "It’s so accurate that when I first started watching the show I thought it was filmed on site.

“The story has been really highly accurate and they’ve gone through a lot of detail and effort to research things from the costume of the time down to the exact thing that went wrong in the accident. It’s all really accurate.”

Corkhill then went on to acknowledge that the helicopter crash as depicted early in the series was not quite reflective of what happened in real life, saying: "There was a helicopter crash that happened in the first episode.

“It looked like it happened because it flew into a cloud of radiation, but in actual fact that happened several weeks later when a helicopter’s turbine blades clipped a crane and then crashed. The crash did happen, but it happened at a different time."

The helicopter seen in the footage was one of many used after the nuclear disaster, with emergency crews relying on the aircraft to pour sand and boron on the reactor.

The sand was intended to stop the fire and additional releases of radioactive material, while the boron worked to prevent additional nuclear reactions.