Korean subway arsonist jailed

The subway station was almost completely gutted by the blaze

The man charged with starting February's subway fire in South Korea, which killed almost 200 people, has been jailed for life.

Kim Dae-hwan was convicted of homicide and arson by the district court in Daegu, South Korea's third largest city and the place where the tragedy took place.

Mr Kim was found guilty of igniting a container of petrol inside an underground train, which started a fire that engulfed two trains, killing 198 people and injuring many others.

The prosecution had asked for the death penalty, but the court said that Mr Kim regretted his actions and appeared to have been mentally unstable at the time.

Relatives of the victims present at Wednesday's court session angrily protested against the verdict, calling it too lenient, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

The court also gave jail sentences to several subway employees for failing to adequately protect passengers.

Two drivers were sentenced to four and five years in jail, while two other employees were each given three-year jail terms.

Suicide attempt

The tragedy began when Mr Kim ignited a canister of petrol in a train carriage.

The fire quickly engulfed the six-car train, and then spread to another train that pulled into the station a few minutes later.

Hundreds of people were trapped in the smoke-filled carriages, but Mr Kim himself survived with severe burns.

He was taken to hospital with other survivors, where admitted his actions to police and said his intention was to commit suicide in a crowded place.

In the aftermath of the fire, criticism was levelled at the subway authorities for their handling of the disaster.

Relatives of those who had died said that low safety standards had contributed to the scale of the tragedy.

Some of the materials used on the train were thought to have emitted toxic fumes during the blaze - apparently the primary cause of many of the deaths.

The power system also shut down, leaving those trying to escape in complete darkness.

Other critics questioned why the second train was allowed to arrive at the station, several minutes after the blaze started.