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Home / Entertainment

Instagram influencers called out for taking sexy hazmat photos in Chernobyl nuclear death zone

NZ Herald
12 Jun, 2019 10:29 PM3 mins to read

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Instagram influencers have received backlash for inappropriate posing at Chernobyl's death zone. Photo / Instagram

Instagram influencers have received backlash for inappropriate posing at Chernobyl's death zone. Photo / Instagram

Social media influencers have been slammed by their followers for taking provocative photos in the Chernobyl death zone.

Since the release of HBO's Chernobyl miniseries, Instagram influencers have been caught posting half-naked photos of themselves as well as posing insensitively in the death zone.

One influencer's profile has emerged that shows her posing in a g-string and a hazmat suit and another of her topless wearing a gas mask.

Instagram influencer poses topless with a gas mask on. Photo / Instagram
Instagram influencer poses topless with a gas mask on. Photo / Instagram

The site, near the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, has become an Instagrammers hot spot to capture the perfect "influencer" photo in a desperate bid for "likes" since the popular series' release.

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Craig Mazin, the writer of the miniseries, has taken to Twitter to speak out about the provocative photos going around social media.

Mazin Tweeted "If you visit, please remember that a terrible tragedy occurred here."

Others have criticised the Instagram influencers for their sexy posing photos that disrespect the fatal accident that claimed thousands of lives or forced thousands more to flee.

One woman poses at an abandoned swimming pool on the site. Photo / Instagram
One woman poses at an abandoned swimming pool on the site. Photo / Instagram

"People died there in a very horrific way - have some respect," one follower hit back at an Instagram influencer.

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Another follower commented on a photo of the Instagrammer posing half-naked at the site saying "This photo is disrespectful to the people who lost their lives. How insensitive can you be?"

Other Instagrammers have commented on the influencers photos describing them as "disrespectful in the extreme." Photo / Instagram
Other Instagrammers have commented on the influencers photos describing them as "disrespectful in the extreme." Photo / Instagram

The miniseries that recounts the true story of the catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986 has fuelled a tourism boom.

Sergii Ivanchuk, director of SoloEast Travel, that organises trips to the nuclear power plant and its surrounding areas, revealed that trip bookings for May of 2019 were 30 percent higher than May of 2018, and were only on the up for the next three months.

Another tour guide in the area told The Sun that "more visitors than ever are flocking to the disaster zone."

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He also revealed that a favourite spot for day trippers is an abandoned theme park, which was set to open a week after the nuclear disaster struck in 1986.

One man poses in front of the famous abandoned Ferris wheel. Photo / Instagram
One man poses in front of the famous abandoned Ferris wheel. Photo / Instagram

According to The Sun, the insensitive Instagram posts are part of a rise of "dark tourism" were tourists visit locations of a dark history.

The tabloid also said that tourists have reportedly been visiting Chernobyl's dangerous radiation zone to party with large groups.

Although radiation levels of the site have been deemed safe for short periods inside the zone, hot spots still exist.

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