Fighter jet drops bombs in error, injuring eight people
The South Korean air force said MK-82 bombs were ‘abnormally’ released by the KF-16 fighter jet outside a firing range.
A South Korean fighter jet accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area during training on Thursday, injuring eight people according to officials.
The MK-82 bombs “abnormally” released by the KF-16 fighter jet fell outside a firing range, causing civilian damages, the air force said in a statement.
The air force said it will establish a committee to investigate why the accident happened and examine the scale of civilian damages. It said the fighter jet was taking part in the air force’s joint live-firing drills with the army.
Apologising for causing civilian damages, the air force said it will offer compensation and other necessary steps for victims.
The accident happened in Pocheon, a city close to the heavily armed border with North Korea. Pocheon’s disaster response centre said six civilians and two soldiers were injured and they were receiving treatment at hospitals.
Centre officials said the condition of four of the injured, all civilians, was serious. They said two of the seriously injured are foreigners, one from Thailand and one from Myanmar.
Three houses were partially damaged, along with a Catholic church and a greenhouse, but they did not appear to have been directly hit by the bombs, according to the Pocheon centre.
