City Hospital № 126, Pripyat
Pripyat City Hospital № 126 (МСЧ-126) was the central medical institution of Pripyat, the Soviet “atom city” built in 1970 to house workers of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. By the mid-1980s, the hospital had grown into a large medical-sanitary complex that included the main multi-storey hospital building, a maternity ward, children’s ward, dental clinic, outpatient facilities and a morgue. It served a young and rapidly growing population of nearly 49,000 residents, including many families of power-plant employees. Although the exact construction date is not firmly documented, the complex was fully operational by the late 1970s.
Hospital 126 became one of the most significant locations during the early hours of the Chernobyl disaster on 26 April 1986. After the explosion of Reactor 4, firefighters, plant workers, and emergency responders were transported there suffering from radiation exposure, burns, and trauma. The hospital was not designed for radiation injuries, but it became the first point of treatment for dozens of heavily irradiated first responders before they were evacuated to specialized facilities in Moscow. The basement of the hospital became infamous: the contaminated uniforms and equipment of firefighters and plant staff were dumped there, creating one of the most radioactive indoor locations in Pripyat.
Following the evacuation of Pripyat on 27 April 1986, the hospital was abandoned. Medical records, equipment, and personal belongings were left in place, and the buildings remained frozen in time as the city fell into silence. Over the decades, the hospital deteriorated, with collapsed ceilings, dark corridors, and high radiation levels in certain areas—especially the basement—making it both dangerous and historically poignant.
