The shadows of Hiroshima: Haunting imprints of people killed by the blast

HIROSHIMA is today commemorating the 70th anniversary of the atomic bomb that the Americans dropped, flattening the Japanese city and killing up to 166,000 people.

On August 6, 1945, a US B-29 bomber unleashed the uranium missile, which exploded around 1,800 feet above the ground.

The horrifying attack destroyed the city centre and wiped out 70,000 people instantly, with thousands more dying from radiation poisoning over the subsequent days, weeks and months.

At 8.15 local time this morning, a bell tolled in Hiroshima to mark the exact moment the devastating bomb was dropped.

Such was the ferocity of the blast, eerie shadows of incinerated humans were left imprinted on steps, pavements and walls.

The haunting impressions were caused by the heat of the explosion, which changed the colour of surfaces - hence the outline of bodies and objects that absorbed some of the blast.