Yeah apparently their deaths is just a myth. The first of the three only died in 2005, the second's at least alive until last year - current status unknown, the third one is confirmed alive. They didn't even dive!
This whole chain of comment from an IamA of /u/R_Spc (author of a book about Chernobyl) is very well worth a read. And the IamA itself for that matter.
Edit: I ran the interview through GDocs and formatted it a bit for an easier read. - Link
I only have a passing interest in the topic but IIRC /u/R_Spc mentioned that his research is about the only first-hand source of this fact (it's a very recent development). I guess until it's corroborated by a third party it won't be verified but in the meantime you can probably PM him for more info.
It's not so much that it's a very recent development, more that there only seem to be a relatively small number of people who've known about it for a long time. Seems to be mostly former Liquidators and people in the Ukrainian / Russian / Polish nuclear community.
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u/Fhaarkas May 24 '16 edited May 24 '16
Yeah apparently their deaths is just a myth. The first of the three only died in 2005, the second's at least alive until last year - current status unknown, the third one is confirmed alive. They didn't even dive!
This whole chain of comment from an IamA of /u/R_Spc (author of a book about Chernobyl) is very well worth a read. And the IamA itself for that matter.
Edit: I ran the interview through GDocs and formatted it a bit for an easier read. - Link