Pripyat: Hospital MsCh-126 Medico-Sanitary Unit

Pripyat Hospital

Hospital No. 126 was the general infirmary for Pripyat. The first firemen to respond to the Chernobyl Disaster were taken here and their clothing remains radioactive.

Visited April 2014  Ukraine Pripyat, Ukraine Abandoned, exclusion zone

This report is part of a series from the ghost town of Pripyat and Chernobyl exclusion zone. Check out the Chernobyl and Pripyat main page for more reports.


Hospital MsCh-126 Medico-Sanitary unit was the general infirmary in Pripyat, serving the workers of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and their families. The hospital has been abandoned since the evacuation of Pripyat following the Chernobyl disaster.

The hospital could accommodate up to 410 patients and had a further three clinics. The hospital is a large complex of buildings of five interconnected buildings of 6 stories each.  The building sits on Druzhby Narodov street (Friendship of the People street) and occupies most of Microdistrict 1. The large letters on the roof read “Здоров’я народу – багатство країни” or “health of the people – riches of the country”.

The basement of the hospital contains the suits worn by the firemen who attended the scene at Chernobyl after the explosion. The firemen weretaken to the hospital by albulance after being exposed to such high levels of radiation that even after 28 years their suits still emit a lethal dose of radiation. Needless to say we avoided the basement where the suits were left, however part of a fireman’s hat has been moved into the reception area. Our dosimeters were capable of reading up to a maximum 999 microsievert per hour. When placed near the hat, the reading was 999, we do not know how much higher than that the radiation actually was. Average background radiation is around 0.02 microsievert per hour!

The hospital was one of my favourite buildings to visit in Pripyat. There were plenty of things to photograph – something different and intriguing in almost every room.  When exploring abandoned hospitals it’s common to find repetitive layouts, each floor built to the same design for example, but Pripyat Hospital has a different feel to each area, something different to offer every each corner.

Pripyat Hospital - Operating Room
Pripyat Hospital – Operating Room
Pripyat Hospital - Gynaecology chair
Pripyat Hospital – Gynaecology chair
Pripyat Hospital - Room with bed and shelves
Pripyat Hospital – Room with bed and shelves
Pripyat Hospital - A bed in a patient room
Pripyat Hospital – A bed in a patient room
Pripyat Hospital - Medical items left behind
Pripyat Hospital – Medical items left behind
Pripyat Hospital - Patient room
Pripyat Hospital – Patient room
Pripyat Hospital - A room full of cots in the maternity ward
Pripyat Hospital – A room full of cots in the maternity ward
Pripyat Hospital - Crib between partitions
Pripyat Hospital – Crib between partitions
Pripyat Hospital - Operating Theatre
Pripyat Hospital – Operating Theatre
Pripyat Hospital - Signs demonstrating what to do in the event of an emergency
Pripyat Hospital – Signs demonstrating what to do in the event of an emergency
Pripyat Hospital - Newspapers from before the disaster
Pripyat Hospital – Newspapers from before the disaster
Pripyat Hospital - Medical Records
Pripyat Hospital – Medical Records
Pripyat Hospital - Book shelves
Pripyat Hospital – Book shelves
Pripyat Hospital - Doll in hospital bed
Pripyat Hospital – Doll in hospital bed
Pripyat Hospital - Wheel chair
Pripyat Hospital – Wheel chair
Pripyat Hospital - Room with items left
Pripyat Hospital – Room with items left
Pripyat Hospital - View into a room
Pripyat Hospital – View into a room
Pripyat Hospital - Shelves still stocked with items
Pripyat Hospital – Shelves still stocked with items
Pripyat Hospital - Items on shelves
Pripyat Hospital – Items on shelves
Pripyat Hospital - Another patient room
Pripyat Hospital – Another patient room
Pripyat Hospital - Records strewn across the floor
Pripyat Hospital – Records strewn across the floor
Pripyat Hospital - A messy room
Pripyat Hospital – A messy room
Pripyat Hospital - Twin beds
Pripyat Hospital – Twin beds
Pripyat Hospital - Twin beds
Pripyat Hospital – Twin beds
Pripyat Hospital - More items on shelves
Pripyat Hospital – More items on shelves
Pripyat Hospital - Corridor in the hospital
Pripyat Hospital – Corridor in the hospital
Pripyat Hospital - Sofa with 1985 throw
Pripyat Hospital – Sofa with 1985 throw
Pripyat Hospital - Decaying room
Pripyat Hospital – Decaying room
Pripyat Hospital - Photos of nurses
Pripyat Hospital – Photos of nurses
Pripyat Hospital - Photo detial
Pripyat Hospital – Photo detial
Pripyat Hospital - Waiting room
Pripyat Hospital – Waiting room
Pripyat Hospital - Examination room
Pripyat Hospital – Examination room
Pripyat Hospital - Sign on door
Pripyat Hospital – Sign on door
Pripyat Hospital - Dosimeter reaching it's maximum reading 999 microseverts per hour - a dangerously high level - when placed next to an item of clothing worn by a fire fighter who attended the Chernobyl disaster. Backround radiation is 0.02 microsieverts per hour.
Pripyat Hospital – Dosimeter reaching it’s maximum reading 999 microsieverts per hour – a dangerously high level – when placed next to an item of clothing worn by a fire fighter who attended the Chernobyl disaster. Backround radiation is 0.02 microsieverts per hour.
Author: Andy Kay | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram

22 thoughts on Pripyat: Hospital MsCh-126 Medico-Sanitary Unit

  1. From the rate of your explores to time at home I suspect you have a lot on your plate. Get cracking son!

  2. Probably the best set I’ve seen yet! Great shots and wonderfull processing/toning. Love it!

  3. Great pictures. I was there in May but didn’t see the hospital. Going back in October for an overnight stay as we want to see more of Price at than there was time for on the first visit including Saint Ilya church and the ruined synagogue in Chernobyl

    • Thanks, there was loads I missed too, including the synagogue, but the hospital is really worth checking out.

  4. wow! Really great pictures, I love anyhting to do with history, i bet that it took your breath away as well the Chernobyl photos

  5. Nice pictures I love Soviet buildings from that period I wish I could go back in time and see this place before the diasaster.

  6. Astonishing & moving photographs. I have my own story about Chernobyl. How I tried to warn the CCCP authorities in 1985 with a letter to Radio Moscow International, detailing my high level of concern that a safety-negligent severe-accident was going to happen. They replied in letter-form and with a broadcast from their “Science-Desk” program transmitted on Short-Wave radio. I feel like I tried to stop a runaway train but failed. I need to write about this … I’m still gutted as we say.

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