air, Fires in the reactor burnt for fifteen days, and radioactive smoke travelled across Europe and the Black Sea. By 2005 fifty-six people had died because of the accident. Scientists think that, in time, about 4,000 people in the Ukraine, Belarus and other countries may die because of Chernobyl Today, most nuclear power stations are much safer than they were at the time of Chernobyl, but things can still go wrong. On 11 March 2011, a huge earthquake happened under the sea near Japan. About forty minutes later, a wave 14 metres high hit the coast near the forty-year-old Fukushima nuclear power station. Water destroyed machines at the power station so people could not cool the reactors. In the days after the accident, teams of brave engineers worked day and night to keep the power station safe There were big explosions, and radioactive gas went into the air. Later, radioactive water went into the sea. Much less radiation escaped from Fukushima than from Chernobyl but it showed the world that safety in nuclear reactors i stil terribly important.