Rye mayor Cllr Bernardine Fiddimore welcomed Colonel Igor Pysmenskyi and the committee of the Chernobyl Children (Rye) charity to the Mayor’s Parlour on the 29th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The charity recently launched an appeal to help children suffering from the after effects of the nuclear fall-out to get to hospital for treatment.
The Ukrainian visitor is chairman of the service organisation which supports those who took part in the Chernobyl clean-up operation, and who are still suffering physically and psychologically as a result. As a helicopter navigator, he took part in extinguishing the raging inferno when Chernobyl Reactor 4 exploded, he and his crew carrying out 29 flights over the reactor, receiving high radiation doses causing multiple health problems. On this visit, he gave testimonials of his involvement and an account of what he experienced, visiting Buckswood School at Guestling and other schools around the area to speak with children in assemblies and class groups. The mayor, in her welcoming speech, emphasised the importance of keeping alive the memory of that nuclear disaster.
Photo: Kenneth Bird
Image Credits: Kenneth Bird .