'Atomic bomb hell can't be repeated' say Japan's last survivors

Victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki believe their horrific past must act as a warning for the future.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewsletters'Atomic bomb hell must never be repeated' say Japan's last survivorsGetty ImagesThe city of Hiroshima was left in ruinsIt was early in the day, but already hot. As she wiped sweat from her brow, Chieko Kiriake searched for some shade. As she did so, there was a blinding light - it was like nothing the 15-year-old had ever experienced. It was 08:15 on 6 August 1945.

“It felt like the sun had fallen - and I grew dizzy,” she recalls.

The United States had just dropped an atomic bomb on Chieko's home city of Hiroshima - the first time a nuclear weapon had ever been used in warfare. While Germany had surrendered in Europe, allied forces fighting in World War Two were still at war with Japan.

Warning: This article contains graphic content that some readers may find upsetting

Chieko was a student, but like many older pupils, had been sent out to work in the factories during the war. She staggered to her school, carrying an injured friend on her back. Many of the students had been badly burnt. She rubbed old oil, found in the home economics classroom, onto their wounds.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crg5lyd25jno

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