'I survived a nuclear bomb - what happened next made me wish I was dead'

On August 6, 1945, hell came to the Japenese city ofHiroshima, in an event that would forever haunt those who survived. It's estimated that approximately 140,000 people lost their lives in the aerial atomic bombing, executed by the US. The attack, which was followed three days later by a second bombing at Nagasaki, brought an end to the dark days of World War II, but at a terrible price.

Those who lived through the horror, a surviving few who are now in advanced age, can still recall the sight of those who burned to death around them, with one woman remembering how she was forced to pick up the "small bones" of a cremated schoolmate.

Now 95, Chieko Kiriake was a 15-year-old schoolgirl when the atomic bomb hit the military city she called home. Like many school-aged teenagers at that time, she was expected to play her part in the war effort, putting her classwork aside to work in the factories.

That morning, Chieko had been working in the tobacco factory in Minami-machi, 1.9 km from the hypocentre. This location would ultimately save her life. She would later remember the moment that the bomb, dubbed 'Little Boy', hit as feeling as though "the sun had fallen".

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As explained in a piece penned for the Peace Culture Foundation in 2020, only one person, who'd become "trapped under machinery", died in the factory that day, with the rest thankfully surviving with "light injuries in our head and neck from the shards of glass that shattered with the bomb's blast".

Sadly, younger students tasked with cleaning up after building demolition behind Hiroshima City Hall (approximately 1.2km from the hypocentre) were not so fortunate. Giving harrowing details of what she witnessed, Chieko wrote: "Those students suffered full-body burns, and were so burnt that they may as well have been naked. Their skin formed blisters and peeled and hung from their fingertips and dragged from their feet, and the sight of them was nothing but tragic. Some of them came back to the school, but there were no doctors and no medicine."

She continued: "The only way they could be treated was using old tempura cooking oil that was left in the home economics classroom. Having fled from the tobacco factory back to the school, we treated their wounds, but they just died one after the other, squirming in pain. I cremated one of those students myself, in a corner of the school ground. Crying, I picked up her small bones, which were a pale pink colour like the petals of cherry blossoms. I hope never to have the same experience again."

Chieko went on to reflect that, even as an "old woman", she "cannot forget those students who died at such a young age". She shared: "Every day I pray for the repose of their souls, and think my hardest about what should be done now to protect eternal peace."

In the 2024 BBC Two film, Atomic People, Chieko revealed how it was the teachers who ordered the students to "dig a hole in the playground", before she cremated her classmates with her "own hands".

Although she survived the initial blast, a month later, Chieko became extremely ill as a result of the toxic radiation, suffering symptoms such as bleeding gums, nausea and hair falling out in clumps. Her condition worsened to the extent that she “wanted to die so as to feel better", however, salvation came in the form of a heroic Swiss doctor.

Then chief delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC’s) Japanese mission, Dr. Marcel Junod, who passed away in 1961, brought medical and pharmaceutical products to those affected by the tragedy, including Chieko, who managed to pull through and regain her health.

In 2021, Chieko returned to what was once the site of the Imperial Japanese Army’s clothing depot in Hiroshima’s Minami Ward, where many citizens fled amid the unfolding terror. As per The Asahi Shimbun, Chieko recalled of that hideous day: “There was moaning and the stench of corpses. This place was like a living hell.”

As one of the hibakusha - a term that translates to 'bomb-affected people' - brave Chieko continues to draw upon her own devastating experiences to shed light on the human consequences of nuclear warfare, which she fears could be far worse today than in her own youth.

Testifying on behalf of Hiroshima Speaks Out in 2021, Chieko warned: "Current nuclear weapons are hundreds of times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If war broke out and nuclear weapons were ever used, the Earth would be destroyed. It is important that each of us continues to try to push the seeds of war deeper down the corridors so that war will not happen."

This follows US attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran, sparking fears over escalating nuclear conflict. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has now warned there will be "everlasting consequences" following US President Donald Trump's boast that "great American Warriors" had carried out a "very successful attack" on the sites of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Taking to social media platform X, Mr Araghchi stated: "Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behaviour. In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defence, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also issued the following statement: "Iran's nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat.

"The situation in the Middle East remains volatile, and stability in the region is a priority. We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis."

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com

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