Inside abandoned ghost town left empty for 35 years after Chernobyl disaster

A photographer has shared some haunting images of a ghost town which has been left empty for 35 years.

The city of Pripyat, in northern Ukraine, was evacuated after the explosion of the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 and has never been inhabited since.

Roman Robroek, from the Netherlands, has spent a week in the city, taking photos of buildings and features which have been left untouched for decades.

Describing his trip as “unreal”, the photographer said he was stunned to find the area largely intact with the buildings in “good shape”.

Roman visited the area with a private guide and was driven around in a small van to view the sights.

The photographer has shared haunting images of the town (Image: Jam Press/Roman Robroek)

Nearly 50,000 people once lived in Pripyat, but now the town is completely abandoned.

A picture of the sign welcoming visitors, from 1970, does not seem to reflect the destruction visible in the town.

Roman also took a photo of the former Ferris wheel, which seems in good condition at first glance – but upon closer inspection, the pods that once carried people on a fun ride are now overgrown with trees.

The former Ferris wheel in Pripyat (Image: Jam Press/Roman Robroek)

Nature appears to swallow up the city in several images, with trees growing past the height of buildings.

In one image, a crumbling school can be seen with abandoned child-size chairs and toys covered in dust and rubble.

In another sobering photo, what appears to be a former nursery can be seen with decaying walls and a cot with the mattress still in place.

One of the photos shows an abandoned school (Image: Jam Press/Roman Robroek) The buildings are completely abandoned (Image: Jam Press/Roman Robroek)

One photograph from Roman’s trip shows an old salon, littered with hair products on the floor and cracked mirrors still in place.

In another haunting image, dozens of gas masks lay on the ground of what appears to be a public bathroom.

One shot shows what seeto be an old school gym, the wallpaper peeling away to show exposed brick and sports equipment still in place.

Also in the school, Roman shot several images of the classrooms, with one still having a large chalkboard for what appears to be a music class.

Pripyat was evacuated after the explosion in 1986 (Image: Jam Press/Roman Robroek)

Another powerful photo reveals an abandoned school assembly hall in a state of deterioration, with a piano left out in a sombre reminder of its past use.

Roman said: “The massive size of the area and the state of decay everything was in shocked me.

“I was expecting a big city with many buildings but this was massive and there was so much to see.

A photo shows a destroyed bus in the town (Image: Jam Press/Roman Robroek)

“Most of the buildings were still in pretty good shape and lots of details have still been left conserved, like a mural in the post office.

“They had everything; cinema, schools, 15 kindergartens, sports places, a post office, a supermarket, hotels, many shops and barbers.

“While walking and driving around the city it felt very surreal.

A piano left in an abandoned building (Image: Jam Press/Roman Robroek) The photographer said the trip felt ‘surreal’ (Image: Jam Press/Roman Robroek)

“It’s such a huge area with so many abandoned buildings – it’s easy to imagine that 50,000 lived there.

“It was truly a ghost city – crumbling buildings and nature taking over.

“I never felt scared, just really flabbergasted by the massive size of everything and the historical value.”

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