Chernobyl has become the benchmark for the world's nuclear accidents (AP).

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the nuclear accident at Ukraine’s Chernobyl power plant.

On April 26, 1986, a reactor at the Chernobyl plant, then in the Soviet Union, exploded and caught fire after a safety test experiment went wrong.

As radiation spread across Europe, tens of thousands of people evacuated.  31 people died immediately and many more died later of radiation-related illnesses.

Today, Ukraine is honoring the anniversary of Chernobyl with memorial Services and anti-nuclear protests.

As Japan still tries to control the crisis at the Fukushima plant, the world community is pledging 550 million euros ($780 million) for Chernobyl.  The money will go towards building a new containment shell over the makeshift reactor that has begun to leak radiation.