• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Rare photos show Earth's fatal hotspot that can kill any human standing nearby in just five minutes

Home> News> World News

Published 14:56 6 Sep 2024 GMT+1

Rare photos show Earth's fatal hotspot that can kill any human standing nearby in just five minutes

Harrowing photos of the lethal area reveal how dangerous it is to be near the hotspot

Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair

There's a spot on Earth that is so dangerous, it could kill someone if they stood nearby for just five minutes.

And the story behind it is haunting.

A lot of things on our blue planet can be dangerous towards us humans, but something we can't really avoid is radiation.

No, I'm not talking about generating electricity for all of our technology, I mean the radiation that can be caused by the use of weapons, which can leave everlasting effects on certain areas of the world.

Advert

Nuclear weapons are bad, but the biggest tragedy related to this isn't to do with weapons at all, and it occurred in Chernobyl after a tragic power plant explosion in Pripyat, Ukraine.

The Chernobyl power plant is at the heart of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which is largely uninhabited (SHONE/GAMMA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The Chernobyl power plant is at the heart of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which is largely uninhabited (SHONE/GAMMA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

What was the Chernobyl disaster?

At a nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl on 26 April, 1986, reactor number four exploded during a failed steam test, killing 30 people instantly.

Radiation released could be detected in countries as far as Sweden, while several civilians and workers in the area would go on to die from severe radiation poisoning, while others died from other health issues and terminal illnesses from the unsafe levels of radiation put into the atmosphere.

Advert

It is still by far and away the worst nuclear disaster in human history, reportedly costing governments around $700 million (£532 million) to deal with, while the area is uninhabitable.

The 'Elephant's Foot'

Known as the most dangerous object on the planet, it was caused by the Chernobyl disaster as a large hunk formed at the bottom of the reactor, which was caused by uranium fuel becoming molten when it overheated.

Steam blew the reactor apart, as heat, steam and molten nuclear fuel combined to make a 100-ton flow of dangerous chemicals that poured out of the reactor and through to the basement of the plant, solidifying and being given the name the 'Elephant's Foot', resembling one.

Being near the Elephant's Foot for too long could kill you (Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Being near the Elephant's Foot for too long could kill you (Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Why is it so dangerous?

People soon realised after the explosion that it shouldn't be approached for a while, as the radioactive lump continued to sear for months.

Advert

When measured, the Elephant's Foot released almost 10,000 roentgens per hour, equivalent to the exposure given by four and a half million chest X-rays.

It's is incredibly dangerous, with photos of people near the hotspot showcasing some of the bravest scientists out there, putting their lives at risk to better understand the Elephant's Foot.

According to science magazine Nautilus, 30 seconds of exposure would have your cells haemorrhaging, and in just four minutes, violent vomiting and diarrhoea would hit, and if you got to five minutes in the lump's vicinity, you;d die within two days.

Studies on the Elephant's Foot

People have chosen to visit and study the site for short periods of time, and while it is still cooling down, the Elephant's Foot is incredibly dangerous to be around, as scientists have only taken the smallest of samples to carry studies out on.

Advert

The Elephant's Foot remains entombed in the New Safe Confinement (NSC) that was slid over Chernobyl to prevent any more radiation leaks from the nuclear power plant.

Featured Image Credit: SHONE/GAMMA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images / Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Topics: Chernobyl, Science, Health, History

Joshua Nair
Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair is a journalist at LADbible. Born in Malaysia and raised in Dubai, he has always been interested in writing about a range of subjects, from sports to trending pop culture news. After graduating from Oxford Brookes University with a BA in Media, Journalism and Publishing, he got a job freelance writing for SPORTbible while working in marketing before landing a full-time role at LADbible. Unfortunately, he's unhealthily obsessed with Manchester United, which takes its toll on his mental and physical health. Daily.

X

@joshnair10

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • World's most dangerous substance can 'kill you in 2 days' even if you only look at it for five minutes
  • Disturbing reality of ‘most dangerous object on Earth’ that can kill you in just minutes
  • Identical twins show insane difference after one spent 20 minutes longer in gym for months
  • Horrifying simulation shows how doctor let mosquito kill him to eventually prove they carried disease

Choose your content:

6 hours ago
8 hours ago
9 hours ago
  • Getty/Gareth Cattermole
    6 hours ago

    Sam Thompson will be 'unable to speak' after vocal chord surgery

    The internet personality issued an update on his health

    News
  • Witthaya Pransognin/Getty
    6 hours ago

    Ketamine expert explains 'pot of blood' symptom faced by new patients

    Luis Corselli was left needing the toilet every 15 minutes after his bladder became the size of a 'shot glass'

    News
  • Kennedy News and Media
    8 hours ago

    Man left with 'shot-glass' bladder after ketamine ruined his life issues grave warning

    He was left needing the toilet every 15 minutes

    News
  • NASA
    9 hours ago

    Mankind has received a mysterious 10-second signal from deep space and no one knows where it came from

    The signal came from a supernova which exploded when the universe was only 730 million years old

    News