South Korea: 15 Injured After KF-16 Fighter Jets Mistakenly Drop Bombs Outside Training Range

SEOUL:
Fifteen people in South Korea were injured on Thursday after two Air Force KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly dropped eight air-to-surface bombs outside a training range during live-fire drills, military officials and fire authorities said, in an unprecedented mistaken bombing on a civilian town.

Authorities said the bombing took place over a village in Pocheon, some 40 kilometres north of Seoul, at around 10 a.m., leaving 15 people, including two soldiers and two foreigners, with minor to serious injuries and damaging a church and seven other buildings.

Fire authorities said two male civilians have been seriously injured and taken to the hospital but noted their injuries to the face and shoulder are not life-threatening. Eight others with minor injuries have also been moved to hospitals for treatment.

Authorities expect the number of those injured to rise as more people have requested treatment.

Some 50 residents in the area have evacuated to a town hall away from the bombing site.

Military officials said the KF-16 fighter jets taking part in a live-fire exercise ‘abnormally’ released four MK-82 bombs each outside the training range in Pocheon at 10:04 a.m.

The Air Force said it is conducting an investigation into the accident, headed by Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Park Ki-wan, and apologised for the damage to civilians.

“We are sorry for the civilian damage from the abnormal (bomb) release accident and wish for the swift recovery of those injured,” the Air Force said in a statement. “We will actively take all necessary measures, including compensation for the damage.”

It marked the first accidental bombing by South Korean fighter jets that resulted in casualties, Yonhap news agency reported.

In 2004, an Air Force F-5B mistakenly released a practice bomb over Boryeong, 138 kilometres south of Seoul, but no one was injured in that incident.

Earlier in the day, South Korea and the United States held combined live-fire drills near the inter-Korean border, in a show of firepower against North Korean military threats ahead of their annual springtime exercise this month.

The exercise took place at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometres south of the border, mobilising more than 160 pieces of military hardware, including K2 tanks, K55A1 self-propelled howitzers, Apache attack helicopters and F-35A stealth jets, according to the Army.