Ukraine to open Chernobyl area to tourists in 2011

[December 13, 2010]  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Tourists may soon be able to tour the sealed area around the Chernobyl nuclear plant, site of the world's worst nuclear accident.

Ukraine's Emergency Ministry says the so-called Chernobyl zone will be opened next year for those who wish to learn more about the nuclear tragedy that occurred 24 years ago.

Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing radiation over a large swath of northern Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of people were resettled from areas contaminated with radiation fallout, and health problems persist. Officials say the site is now safe for tours.

The ministry also said Monday it hopes to finish building a new safer shell for the exploded reactor by 2015. The $505 million project is financed by international donors.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.