AT the heart of the Chernobyl exclusion zone is a deadly radioactive object which can kill within minutes.
Dubbed the Elephant's Foot due to its bizarre shape - the highly dangerous mass of toxic material was formed in the aftermath of the 1986 nuclear disaster.
Around 30 people died from the immediate blast at the Chernobyl power plant that was sparked by a major meltdown in the number four reactor.
But it's believed the death toll could be well into the thousands with many residents dying from radiation exposure in the years after.
The devastation at Chernobyl serves as a stark reminder to the world as Europe's biggest power plant in Zaporizhzhia continues to come under threat.
Putin accused of surrounding himself with same 'actors' at series of events
The plant has been under Russian control since Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, sparking fears of a new nuclear disaster nearly 40 years on.
After the 1986 blast, the Elephant's Foot was discovered lying in a dark chamber by Emergency workers in Ukraine.
It was formed from highly dangerous corium and was so hazardous that anyone who spent just five minutes near the 10ft toxic blubber would have just a 50 per cent chance of survival.
But alarm bells only started to ring when workers noticed a steaming black lava oozing from its centre.
Material from the reactor had travelled into the bottom of the reactor vessel and dropped to the floor of the containment area.
Here it reacted with concrete, changing its composition and eventually cooling and solidifying - forming the Elephant's Foot.
According to readings, the still hot portion of molten concrete and sand was emitting enough radiation to give a lethal dose in just 300 seconds.
The intense radiation emitted by the Elephant's Foot could have reduced life expectancy to a handful of days, reported the Star.
Just a few minutes of exposure would have caused an agonising death consisting of internal bleeding, uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhoea.
Sufferers would also be left convulsing and dead within three days depending on exposure levels.
Catholics across the world pray for Pope Benedict XVI as his body lies in state
The surrounding areas are still unsafe and polluted by dangerous levels of radioactivity following the disaster which saw the nuclear power plant explode.
A 1,000-square-mile zone was cordoned off to prevent harmful exposure to people, and only about 1,000 residents have returned to the exclusion zone, now part of Ukraine, in the nearly four decades since they left.
Eerie pictures show the abandoned city frozen in time as its residents fled for their lives.
In particularly haunting images fairground rides including bumper cars and a Ferris wheel can be seen rotting as faded paint peels off.
Many believe Elephant's Foot could be the most dangerous piece of waste in the world and even today setting foot in the chamber where it is slowly cooling amounts to a death sentence.
It’s so indestructible that no normal drill can penetrate it and when the Russian authorities shot at it with an AK-47 they only scratched its surface.
Only two pictures of the foot were ever released to the public but due to its deadly radiation, even the camera’s film was affected.
This resulted in the deterioration of the photos and anomalies in the picture quality itself.
Even after more than 30 years, the foot is still melting through the concrete base of the power plant.
The nuclear wasteland is so toxic that wild wolves who roam the nuclear wasteland near Chernobyl have developed a 'superpower' following prolonged exposure to radiation.
Researchers are hoping their discovery of the exceptional genetic mutation could give humans a better chance at surviving cancer.
The mutant wolves appear to have developed cancer-resilient genomes - which have proved helpful in surviving the high levels of radiation that have plagued the human-free Chernobyl Exclusion Zone since the city's power plant infamously exploded in 1986.
It comes as Russia was accused of a false flag attack after Europe's biggest nuclear plant was blasted by drones.
Russia's nuclear power corporation, Rosatom, had initially accused Ukraine's military of launching a series of attacks on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in south-eastern Ukraine.
But a Ukrainian intelligence official quickly dismissed the claims and said Kyiv had nothing to do with any strikes on the station, suggesting they were the work of Russians themselves.
The UN.'s nuclear watchdog called for such incidents to cease immediately.
The firm warning came after Russia urged world leaders to denounce the incidents.
However, Russian officials and the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said radiation levels were normal and damage not severe.
