On June 12, Grishchenko underwent exploratory surgery to determine the cause of the infection and to remove it. The infection initially showed signs of responding to antibiotics. He grew up in a nearby village.Ī lung infection was diagnosed before Grishchenko's transplant, a hospital statement said. Grishchenko, 52, was a pilot on five flights over the damaged and radiation-leaking Chernobyl nuclear power plant for three days and was in the area for two months in 1986. Soviet hero Anatoly Grishchenko died last night at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he had undergone a bone-marrow transplant April 27 for treatment of acute leukemia.
