Sobering simulation shows true devastation of Hiroshima atomic bomb 80 years on from tragedy
Wednesday (6 August) marked 80 years since the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing at least 140,000 people
It's been 80 years since America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and a simulation of the tragedy shows just how devastating it was for so many people.
On 7 May 1945, Nazi Germany was defeated by the main Allied powers - the US, the UK, Soviet Russia, China, and France.
Amongst many other countries, they worked together to stop the likes of Germany, fascist Italy, and imperial Japan from taking over.
On 30 April, Adolf Hitler, who died by suicide in his underground bunker in Berlin, was out of the picture, but Japan refused to surrender.
Advert
"The United States had two options: mobilise over two million men and invade the Japanese home islands, incurring nearly one million casualties and adding two years to the war, or use one of the most destructive technologically sophisticated weapons known to man," explains the Modern Muscle YouTube channel, who has shared a simulation video of what happened in 1945.
On 6 August, the Enola Gay departed from the Northern Mariana Islands to its destination of Hiroshima, with a 15-kiloton, fission nuclear bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, in its cargo.
Once 31,000ft above Hiroshima, the plane then released the bomb 'with catastrophic consequences'.
Roughly 140,000 of Hiroshima's 350,000 population were killed in the atomic blast, and Modern Muscle's visualisation shows the trajectory of the bomb as well as the catastrophic consequences.
Much of the city and many of its people were obliterated in the initial blast.
At the same time, thousands died after the explosion from radiation sickness and burns, as well as widespread starvation and malnutrition.
With Japan still not surrendering, the death toll continued three days later (9 August) when a second bomb, nicknamed 'Fat Man', killed 74,000 people in Nagasaki, which was 421km away from Hiroshima.
Tsutoma Yamaguchi, who survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, described the sky erupting in a blaze of light, like that of a 'huge magnesium flare'.
On 15 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito addressed the nation via radio in what was dubbed 'The Jewel Voice Broadcast', where he announced Japan's surrender.
On the 80th anniversary of the bombing yesterday (6 August), survivor Toshiyuki Mimaki, 83, issued an urgent warning.
As reported by Sky News, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said 'right now is the most dangerous era'.
"Russia might use it [a nuclear weapon], North Korea might use it, China might use it," he said. "And President Trump - he's just a huge mess.
"We've been appealing and appealing, for a world without war or nuclear weapons - but they're not listening."
"What I remember is that day I was playing outside and there was a flash," Mimaki said about that tragic day. "We were 17km away from the hypocentre. I didn't hear a bang, I didn't hear a sound, but I thought it was lightning.
"Then it was afternoon and people started coming out in droves. Some with their hair all in mess, clothes ragged, some wearing shoes, some not wearing shoes, and asking for water."
Topics: History, YouTube, World News
Anish Vij