Valery Ilyich Khodemchuk (Ukrainian: Валерій Ілліч Ходемчук; Russian: Валерий Ильич Ходемчук; 24 March 1951 – 26 April 1986) was a Soviet engineer who was the night shift circulating pump operator at the Chernobyl power plant, and the first casualty of the Chernobyl disaster.[1]
Valery Khodemchuk | |
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Валерій Ходемчук | |
 | |
| Born | Valery Ilyich Khodemchuk 24 March 1951 |
| Died | 26 April 1986 (aged 35) Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Pripyat, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Cause of death | Nuclear reactor explosion |
| Burial place | Chernobyl NPP |
| Occupation(s) | Soldier, Senior Operator for Chernobyl Power plant |
| Known for | Night shift circulating pump operator at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant |
| Spouse | Natalia Khodemchuk |
| Children | Oleg Khodemchuk (son) Larisa Khodemchuk (daughter) |
| Parents |
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| Awards | Order of the Badge of Honour Order For Courage Third Class |
Biography
editValery Khodemchuk was born 24 March 1951 in Kropyvnia, Ivankiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast.
He began his career at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in September 1973. During his first years at Chernobyl, he held the positions of the engineer of boilers, the senior engineer of boilers of the workshop of thermal and underground communications, the operator of the 6th group and the senior operator of the 7th group of the main circulation pump of the 4th unit of the reactor workshop.
On the night of 26 April 1986, Khodemchuk was in the northern main circulation pump hall. Shortly before his death, Khodemchuk placed a phone call to another pump operator, Aleksandr Odintsov, and said "I need to recharge the lower feed for [pump number] 22… Okay, come on. So it’s shortened, one sec…"
Then, just seconds later, at approximately 1:23:48 a.m. (Moscow Time), two powerful explosions tore through Unit 4, including the main circulation pump halls. Valery Khodemchuk was the first person to die in the Chernobyl disaster; it is thought he was killed instantly by the blast or crushed by large chunks of falling debris.
His body was never found, and it is presumed that he is entombed under the remnants of the circulation pumps.[2] A monument to Khodemchuk was built into the side of the Sarcophagus' interior dividing wall, east of the pump hall where he died.[1] In 1998, a cenotaph honoring him was placed at Mitinskoe Cemetery in Moscow, the final resting place of firefighters and power plant workers who died putting out the fires from the Chernobyl disaster.[3]
Recognition
editIn 2008, Khodemchuk was posthumously awarded with the 3rd degree Order For Courage by Viktor Yushchenko, the President of Ukraine.[4]
Actor Kieran O'Brien portrayed him in the 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Fogarty, Paul (June 2019). "Chernobyl: The tragedy of Valery Khodemchuk - who was he and how did he die?". HITC Culture. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Chernobyl: Who is Valery Khodemchuk? What happened to him?". Express.co.uk. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "ХОДЕМЧУК ВАЛЕРІЙ ИЛЛІЧ 24.03.1951 - 26.04.1986". coolschool1.at.ua. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
- ^ "Presidential Decree No. 1156/2008 of 12 December 2008". zakon.rada.gov.ua.