Radio Kiev Skims Over News, Moves to Sports
WASHINGTON — Soviets seeking word from Radio Kiev in the initial hours of the disaster at a Soviet nuclear plant heard scarcely more than 20 seconds of news before the announcer switched to the sports report.
In one of its first reports Tuesday, the English-language service of Radio Kiev said in a 22-second dispatch:
“There has been an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine. One of the nuclear reactors has been damaged. Measures for eliminating the consequences of the nuclear accident have been undertaken and victims are being rendered assistance. And now sports.”
The broadcast was monitored in Annapolis, Md.
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