CRIME ARCHIVE: Death in Kiisa kitchen cabinet: radiation source endangered dozens, one died
Translated from Estonian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
- Three brothers entered a radioactive-waste facility near Tallinn on October 21, 1994, searching for metal to sell as scrap.
- One brother put a small cylinder containing a cesium-137 source in his pocket, unknowingly exposing dozens of people to danger; one person died.
On the early morning of October 21, 1994, three brothers broke into the Tammiku radioactive-waste facility near Tallinn. They were looking for metal they could sell as scrap.
The men did not know that a cylinder only a few centimeters long contained an extremely dangerous cesium-137 radiation source. One of them put it in his pocket, bringing the source into contact with people and placing dozens of lives at risk.
The incident later became known as the death in the Kiisa kitchen cabinet. One person died as a result of the radiation exposure.
Originally published by Postimees in Estonian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.