In pictures: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On 6 August 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan that instantly killed around 78,000 people. Many more would die in the years to come from the effects of nuclear radiation – by the end of 1945 the death toll had reached approximately 140,000. Three days later, on 9 August, a second bomb targeting Nagasaki killed around 35,000 people and the final death toll was calculated as at least 50,000
For years debate has raged over whether the US was right to drop the two atomic bombs on Japan during the final weeks of the Second World War.
Here, we look back at some of the photos taken in the aftermath of the attack...
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