Uncaptured Moments: Stealth Mission To Unused Nuclear Plant Reactor Core
Click the thumbnail to watch “Stealth Mission To Unused Nuclear Plant Reactor Core”
With this video, I want to focus on 4 moments that went uncaptured: the scouting and decision making for the entrance to the facility; the confusing navigation inside the complex; the escape from the territory; the camping in the abandoned factory.
Entrance
The clip shown above occurs in the video at 0:42 in the video
checkmate told me about the power plant a few weeks prior, while we were planning the trip. We didn’t know much about it, so we marked the location on our map and didn’t think twice. Once we got near the power plant, the evening before our mission, we realized it will not be as simple as we imagined.
The power plant has a controversial history since it’s inception and therefore is guarded to this day. While we were standing on the cliff-side parking lot, observing the area from above, we noticed a security car driving back and forth behind us on the public road. From that moment we realized our approach needs to be more stealthy and methodical.
The clip shown above occurs in the video at 0:59 in the video
There are not many ways to enter the facility. The steep and narrow cliffs made the approach very difficult and predictable. Nonetheless, we tried our best and OnTheEdge did a great job leading. We parked the car further from the area and took an arching route through the bushes, so as to not run into a security car patrolling on the main road.
Our way down the cliff towards the perimeter fence was very obvious and I was sceptical of our chances to reach it without being spotted. Once we got to the fence, getting past it was another challenge. We were quite visible to anyone from above while we were snooping around to find a way in. In the video, I did not show the exact way we got past the fence and the exact path we took down to the facility on purpose.
Navigation
The clip shown above occurs at 9:14 in the video
The power plant never was never fully finished. I assume because of the abrupt end to the construction, the workers were told to take some creative liberties to make entering and navigating the facility as difficult as they could.
Our first goal, once we got past the initial blockade of concrete walls, was to find a way into one of the reactor containment buildings. The signs on the walls were either vague or non-existent. This meant we were wandering back and forth through confusing, dark hallways for at least an hour before we even reached the entrance to the first reactor building.
The clip shown above occurs in the video at 14:58 in the video
Collapsed walls and ceilings, barricaded doors and bricked up hallways made the navigation almost a guessing game as we went deeper into the complex. We got to the roof and to the basement multiple times before we actually found the way to the floors in-between.
Tension of slowly setting sun, not knowing where to go, security patrolling around and our individual preferences made us split up to cover more ground. This only led to more disorganization and, apart from looking for the main control room, we would occasionally end up looking for each other.
Escape
The clip shown above occurs at 15:33 in the video
During our visit, we tried to stay as stealthy as we could, but there was always room for error. Apart from security cars or guards on foot, we were also expecting dogs. We knew we took a very open and detectable way in, so on our way out we had to be both calculated and fast.
Since we wandered enough around the premises to feel like we’ve seen it all, we pulled some chairs together in one of the hallways and took a break to discuss our exit. As mentioned, the sun was setting quickly and we did not want to leave in complete darkness. Even though we would be less visible, we would not be able to move quickly or confidently through the uneven and metal debris filled terrain.
The clip shown above occurs at 15:39 in the video
I filmed the escape, but the footage was too dark and grainy to make anything out, so I did not include it in the edit. Once we got near the wall with the hole we climbed in through initially (btw thank you checkmate for that boost!), we stopped for a few minutes, before the climb out, to rest and listen. Coincidentally, we did hear a vehicle slowly drive by on the other side. That meant we had some window of time before the car would circle back and we took it.
Taking advantage of the dim twilight, we quickly moved across the territory towards the cliffs in about 5 minutes. Once we started climbing up, we noticed lights slowly turning towards us in the distance. At this point the sun had completely set. We scrambled up, passed the fence and got fully out of the territory. Out of breath, we stopped and turned around to look - the guards were out of the vehicle and pointing their flashlight beams back and forth, both towards the fences and the main buildings.
The security did not seem frantic or in a hurry, so we assumed two things: either it was a coincidence and this was part of their routine patrol or we got spotted through cameras and they came to our last known location to investigate. Either way - we were gone.
Sleeping Spot
The clip shown above occurs at 15:57 in the video
Even though the abandoned factory footage immediately follows the power plant mission, it did not occur until the following evening. After the power plant, we had a nice dinner and booked a comfortable hotel room. We did this both to get a good night’s rest and for OnTheEdge to prepare for his departure the following day.
Coincidentally, Matt had notified us beforehand, that he would be available to meet up around the same time that OnTheEdge would leave. checkmate and I decided to take advantage of the good weather and looked for a place to camp for the evening. We needed an indoor spot to sleep because of possible rain at night. The abandoned sugar factory we stumbled on while on the road was perfect.
The clip shown above occurs at 18:09 in the video
The sleep was decent. I’ve gotten used to being woken up by random noises while sleeping outside, so loud birds or passing trains were a minor disturbance. In the morning, after breakfast, we were joined by Matt. Wanting some exercise, I decided to look for a way to get to the top of the gutted factory.
After humans moved out, the storks moved in. The roofs were dominated by them. They were both majestic and clumsy, beautiful and frightening. I stood among them on the roof, overlooking the territory and inspecting their habitats. Not wanting to disturb them for long, I got down quickly and joined back up with Matt and checkmate. We had more to do.
PHOTOS
Finally, here are some phone photos I took during the missions. While most of the photos are from events shown in the video, some are of the moments I didn’t get a chance to film.
