Fighter jets accidentally drop bombs, injuring eight people
The South Korean air force said MK-82 bombs were ‘abnormally’ released during a joint live-fire exercise with the US military.
Two South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area during a joint live-fire exercise with the US military on Thursday, injuring eight people, officials said.
The MK-82 bombs released by the KF-16 fighter jets fell outside a firing range, causing civilian damage, 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 the civilian damage.
It said the fighter jets were taking part in the one-day firing drill with the US military.
An air force official said a pilot of one of the KF-16s put in a wrong co-ordinate for a bombing site.
A defence ministry official also said that more investigation was needed to find out why the second KF-16 also dropped bombs on a civilian area.
The air force apologised and expressed hopes for a speedy recovery of the injured people. It said it will actively offer compensation and take other necessary steps.
The accident happened in Pocheon, a city close to the heavily armed border with North Korea.
In a televised briefing, Pocheon mayor Paek Young-hyun said the bombings were “awful” and urged the military to halt drills in the city until it formulates reliable steps that can prevent a recurrence.
He said that Pocheon, a city of 140,000 people, provides three major firing ranges for the South Korean and US militaries.
The military said it has decided to suspend live-fire drills in Pocheon.
Pocheon’s disaster response centre said six civilians and two soldiers were injured and were being treated in hospital.
Four of the injured, all civilians, were in a serious condition, the centre said. Two of the seriously injured are foreigners, one from Thailand and the other from Myanmar.
Three houses were partially damaged, a Catholic church and a greenhouse, but they did not appear to have been directly hit by the bombs, according to the Pocheon centre.
The accident came just before the South Korean and US militaries announced they will begin large-scale annual military drills next Monday.
