The building number 7 on Gvardeytsiv Kantemirovtsiv Street (now Mariyi Pryimachenko Street) in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, is infamous as a cursed place that caused residents to suffer from dangerous leukemia.
Equipped with an elevator and hot water, this apartment complex exudes a strange luxury compared to most residential buildings from the Soviet era.
Building number 7 on Mariyi Pryimachenko Street today. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).
The first family moved in here in 1980. They were very pleased with the living conditions. It was considered one of the best apartments in the city. However, their joy was short-lived.
Just a year after moving into their new home, their 18-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away within a few months. Before the family could recover from this tragedy, their 16-year-old son fell ill with the same disease and died. Following this, the mother became the third victim in this family to fall seriously ill. They began to wonder if the apartment was cursed.
Initially, this mysterious hypothesis did not garner public attention. Doctors attributed the illness to genetic factors. The remaining family members soon moved out, and the city executive committee handed the keys to another family.
In 1987, tragedy struck again. The teenage son of the second family died from leukemia. His younger brother was also in critical condition. The heartbroken father initiated an investigation into the building.
It took two years for local authorities to agree to send an investigative team equipped with radiation measuring devices to building number 7 on Gvardeytsiv Kantemirovtsiv Street. They discovered high radiation levels in this apartment. Notably, the levels in the room where the children slept far exceeded permissible limits.
The investigators eventually traced toxic chemicals emanating from the walls. Residents of the building were quickly evacuated, and the wall was demolished. The concrete block was sent to the Kiev Institute of Nuclear Research, where scientists found a small capsule containing high levels of radioactive Cesium-137, which is used in radiation measuring devices.
From the serial number etched on the capsule, it was determined that the capsule had been lost from a quarry that supplied gravel for the construction of the apartment. Accidentally, the radioactive capsule became mixed with the concrete and was trapped within the walls between apartments 85 and 52. It was located near the beds of small children and caused a tragedy that claimed the lives of four people. Ultimately, 17 others were confirmed to have been exposed to radiation at varying levels.
To this day, building number 7 still stands and has residents living inside. The radiation levels have now returned to normal.
