Hero Chernobyl engineer who ‘could no longer cope with treatment’ for radiation poisoning he suffered in 1986 disaster jumps 150ft to his death from a Moscow balcony

• Engineer Viktor Smakov, 75, threw himself off a balcony in Moscow
• He suffered from life-long health problems caused by radiation poisoning
• The engineer said he couldn’t deal with the health problems any longer 

A heroic engineer who helped mitigate the Chernobyl nuclear disaster took his own life in Moscow, no longer able to cope with the ravages of radiation poisoning.

Plant engineer Viktor Smakov, 75, jumped from a balcony on his high rise residential building and fell 150ft to his death. 

He was one of the first on the scene on 26 April 1986 when reactor number four of the Soviet power station exploded, and was a key witness to the horror.

The nuclear poisoning he sustained as he helped reduce the damage caused by the power station led to long-term health problems. 

In a note left for his family, he said that 37 years on from the life-changing incident, he could no longer face the treatment to keep him alive. 

Viktor Smakov, 75, (pictured) was one of the first on the scene when Chernobyl’s fourth nuclear reactor exploded

The tragedy had the potential to cause untold devastation to millions 

Hundreds of people suffered radiation poisoning following the disaster

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The tragic note read: ‘My dears: Larisa, Dima and Sveta! Now it’s time to say goodbye.

‘Thank you very much for the years we have lived together. It was happiness. I’m sorry!’

In 1986, he rushed from his nearby home to his scheduled shift at the power station as soon as the reactor exploded and began spewing radiation across Europe.

‘Inside the buildings, people fought the fire,’ he said in his memoir of the tragedy.

‘The most dangerous place was in the turbine room, because a fire here is the worst thing that can happen at a station after a reactor explosion.

‘There was no panic, everyone was just doing their job.

Viktor said he couldn’t deal with the radiation poisoning any longer

Viktor was given an administrative job in the Soviet Union shortly after the tragedy 

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‘Personnel extinguished the fire and drained oil into underground containers; electricians…vented hydrogen.

‘Many of those who saved the station received lethal doses of radiation and subsequently died in hospital.’

The day after the explosion, the population of [highly-polluted] Pripyat was evacuated ‘but the station could not be left unattended.

‘Therefore, the staff lived in the town for a few more days.

‘Then the children were transported to the Skazochny pioneer camp, which was located further from the station.

‘It is worth saying that after the accident almost no one quit, although it was very scary.

‘Out of 5,000, a maximum of six or seven people fled.

‘And this despite the fact that everyone was professional and knew perfectly well what radiation was.’

He resented the blame game which saw ‘the staff blamed for everything’. 

He said he hated how staff at the power plant were blamed for its failure 

He was awarded an honour for his role in the clean-up

He rushed from his nearby home to his scheduled shift at the power station as soon as the reactor exploded

‘According to the official version, the workers decided to conduct tests at the power unit, despite the fact that the reactor was in an unsuitable state for such work – at a power of 200 megawatts, instead of the required 700.’

He was awarded an honour for his role in the clean-up, but admitted: ‘This accident, of course, ruined everyone’s fate.

‘I suffered from radiation sickness, I received a stigma for life – a ban on working in areas of ionizing radiation, a ban on working at night, a ban on business trips and a lot of other restrictions.’ 

He was given an administrative job in a Russian ministry shortly after his work at Chernobyl. 

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