NO FALLO UTS.. IT’S A STAG DO IN CHERNOBYL Nuclear disaster zone now must-see for lads
THRILL-seekers are heading to the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster for their stag parties.
The Chernobyl “dead zone” tops a list of extreme locations including secretive North Korea and the dangerous Gaza Strip.
The nuclear reactor north of Kiev, Ukraine, suffered a meltdown during an accident in April 1986.
The core of the power plant exploded while engineers were carrying out a systems check.
Thirty-one people were killed as a direct result of the blast and many more have since died of radiation exposure.
But the site’s grim past has not put off lads looking for an unforgettable break.
In 2011 Ukraine opened up the zone around the reactor to tourists, offering visits to the old hospital and fairground.
One reader, who went to Kiev and Chernobyl on a lads’ break but asked to remain anonymous, told the Daily Star Sunday: “We’d done all the usuals like Budapest and Krakow and one of my mates saw about this dark tourism trend.
“It was brilliant at Chernobyl – we had radiation readers and saw the derelict buildings and got some great photos.
“It’s tragic what happened there, but I didn’t want to look at another church or museum or whatever. This was way more cool.”
Fourteen years after the blast at least 3.5million people in Ukraine were still suffering from radiation exposure. In an 18-mile exclusion zone the radiation levels are still so high that workers are only allowed to spend five hours there. They then have to stay away for the next 15 days. Events firm Last Night Of Freedom is among those offering extreme trips for stags. Boss Matt Mavir said: “Over the years we’ve had odd requests from groups wanting a variety of things – like dwarves dressed as the cast of Frozen. “Another group asked for a pretty extreme stag kidnapping. We aim to please, but even we have some boundaries. “We have also had requests about nontraditional stag or hen destinations which do include some ‘dark tourism’ hotspots.
“We had one group who wanted to do a stag do in Gaza, visiting the Gaza Strip. And another group wanted to do North Korea.
“These sorts of requests have become more common. We have had to be more creative and really think out of the box when looking to add new destinations.
“Two of the packages we came up with were a trek to the North Pole and a trip into space. You would have to have a substantial budget for both – but it’s worth it for the memories. “We’re all about making the stag or hen’s last night of freedom one to remember.”