Sewol Sparks Nationwide Anti-Disaster Drill

The Sewol ferry disaster has changed South Korea forever. On Wednesday, the nation conducted a nationwide anti-disaster drill to train its citizens to cope with deadly accidents.
 
Local newsagency Yonhap reports that a fire drill was held on a subway train leaving Sangwolgok Station in Seoul that involved 95 people including school students. The drill focused on swift evacuation and maintaining control of the situation with participants learning how to use emergency phones and fire-fighting equipment. 

Another 25 drills were held in other parts of Seoul.

On April 16, the ferry Sewol sank off South Korea’s southwest coast, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing, mostly school children. The government has been criticized for its botched initial response and has vowed to make the country safer. 

More disasters have beset the nation since April. Sixteen people plunged about 20 meters to their deaths in a city south of Seoul on Friday as a ventilation grill they were standing on to get a better view of a pop concert collapsed. Eleven others were seriously injured in the accident, reports Yonhap.