The Chernobyl nuclear disaster decimated the town of Pripyat, Ukraine, in 1986, but few people have been able to truly capture the remnants of the abandoned city. Cinematographer Danny Cooke’s drone camera footage, filmed for a segment on CBS’s 60 Minutes, reveals a chilling, bird’s-eye view of the deteriorating Pripyat stuck in time.
At first glance, the bright blue skies and abundance of trees trick you into believing this is any other old town, but the footage of crumbling Soviet-era structures, rickety amusement park rides, and empty swimming pools quickly paint an unsettling, post-apocalyptic landscape of Pripyat and the Chernobyl “Exclusion Zone.”
While the city was abandoned after the nuclear fallout, the effects of the environmental disaster are still felt throughout the region, and visitors are encouraged to stay away for obvious health reasons, so being able to see the city decay under the natural elements is a fascinating, but haunting reminder of time’s passing and the effects of nuclear fallout.
