
On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered a catastrophic failure, the aftereffects of which are still being felt to this day. Danish photographer Lasse Damgaard explores the haunting remains of a city that once was home to thousands. Remnants of bumper cars lay abandoned in the ruins of an amusement park.
Lasse Damgaard

Pripyat's iconic ferris wheel, part of an amusement park scheduled to open only days after the nuclear meltdown occurred April 26, 1986.
Lasse Damgaard

A cross stands at the entrance to Pripyat.
Lasse Damgaard

A view of the Pripyat town square.
Lasse Damgaard

The abandoned town square in Pripyat.
Lasse Damgaard

The entrance to an abandoned apartment complex in Pripyat.
Lasse Damgaard

An interior view of the apartment complex.
Lasse Damgaard

Coins and bills on a window sill.
Lasse Damgaard

A classroom in an abandoned school building.
Lasse Damgaard

A waiting room with four empty chairs.
Lasse Damgaard

An abandoned swimming pool complex.
Lasse Damgaard

An abandoned classroom.
Lasse Damgaard

Empty room with view of a ferris wheel.
Lasse Damgaard

Empty room with overturned desk and chair.
Lasse Damgaard

A shoe in the abandoned gymnasium.
Lasse Damgaard

An abandoned gymnasium in Pripyat.
Lasse Damgaard

A monument to the emergency personnel that responded to the Chernobyl disaster was erected near the power plant.
Lasse Damgaard

The welcome sign to Pripyat, Ukraine, the site of the Chernobyl power plant.
Lasse Damgaard

Two catfish, about eight feet in length, swim in the river near the power plant.
Lasse Damgaard

The entrance to the first zone of exclusion outside of Chernobyl, approximately 30 kilometers from the power plant.
Lasse Damgaard

An older woman, one of only a few hundred people who stayed behind after the evacuation of Chernobyl.
Lasse Damgaard

A tree grows through broken floor tiles.
Lasse Damgaard