Helicopt03_05_86_1

"The photo is made from the helicopter on May 3, 1986." (original caption) Is this the glowing column of ionized air that was reported, or smoke from the graphite fire?

Chernopik

Excellent colour photo of Chernobyl, right after the explosions. I believe the circular vessel lid is visible in the centre of the debris.

CHERNOBYL_002

Colour photo of the exterior of the Chernobyl power plant shortly after the explosion, just outside the Russian town of Pripyat. How shortly is unknown.

rbmk_chornobyl_341

Looking into the debris-filled reactor (look for the inverted lid on the left). The 1000-ton lid is now wedged 4 feet lower than it rested before the explosion.

UK_CH_012

Close-up view of the reactor #4 area shortly after the explosion at Chernobyl. This would have been a dangerous place to be... Taken from International Nuclear Safety.

r32

Diagram of the reactor vessel. Gray represents the debris/silica/boron mixture thrown by military helicopters. The green circle is the inverted 1000 ton vessel lid, at approx 15 degrees from vertical.

r4

General flow of radioactive molten fuel mixture through the floors below the Chernobyl 4th-block reactor.

fruin4m

Picture shortly after the Chornobyl/Chernobyl explosions outside the town of Pripyat. Concrete being pumped in in an attempt to pave-over and contain the radioactive materials.

fruin11m

The "Elephant's Foot". Once molten fuel/debris mixture that dripped down through the floors of the exploded RBMK-1000 reactor at Chernobyl. It was so radioactive and solid, they had to use a rifle to chip a piece of it off.

sark3b

Another photo of the "Elephants Foot"

f451

Entire floor covered with once-molten fuel/metal mixture. #5 is an electronics cabinet, knocked over by the explosion and partially incorporated into the fuel lava.

f421

In the "steam distributing corridor", pictures translated from russian: 1 - fuel lava (aka FCM), 2 - concrete, 3 - parosbrosnoy valve, 4 - capacitor.