Yes, but it seems to me, that the risk of further melt downs in Chernobyl is much lower and the core is more divided -- so the situation is stable without cooling. In Fukushima, the cores still have to be cooled, what makes the thing troublesome. You can't just bury a core that has to be cooled ....

As much I remember, in Chernobyl the core stopped before it reached the ground water, because they digged below the core and made it stop -- risking and probably sacrificing further lives.