Hiroshima 71 years on: Candid portraits of survivors of atomic bomb

It is almost 71 years since the atomic bomb "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima, causing the deaths of roughly 140,000 people, with some 80,000 killed instantly from the intense heat and radiation.

The nuclear bomb was dropped by American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, flown by Colonel Paul Tibbets and was justified by former US president Harry S. Truman, who used the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour along with the murder of American prisoners as reason for the attacks. According to reports, around 70% of the buildings in the city were destroyed and another 7% severely damaged.

US President Barack Obama is set to become the first sitting US president to visit one of the bomb sites on 27 May. He will be accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Obama has said that he will not apologise or address the debate on whether the 6 August 1945 bombing of Hiroshima was justified, but will honour all those who lost their lives in World War Two.

Many atomic bomb survivors have said that they would welcome an apology from the US president but for others, the priority is ridding the world of nuclear arms, a goal that seems as elusive as ever.

Getty Images photographer Johannes Eisele travelled to Hiroshima, and captured the faces of some of the survivors from the world's first atomic bomb attack.