South Korean fighter jets missed eight bombs on Thursday in a civilian area, causing 15 people to be injured and destroyed houses and churches in a military exercise held in Pochuk, the Air Force and Fire Department said.
The fire agency said in a statement that 15 people were injured, including two of them.
Pocheon is located about 40 kilometers northeast of Seoul, close to the military border with North Korea.
“The fighter jets suddenly roared and then exploded. When I went to the scene, about four houses were cut in half due to damage and people were injured.”
“Dununday and smoke rose into the sky and water poured out of the pipes. People in the vehicles going to the construction site were injured – some of them could not even get out. Another person covered his eyes outside the car.”
South Korean Air Force said eight 225 kg MK82 bombs from two KF-16 jets landed outside the shooting range during a joint live shooting event.
“We regret the damage caused by the abnormal decline accident and we hope for a quick recovery of the injury,” the Air Force said in a statement.
A military official said the accident was caused by a pilot entering incorrect coordinates. The official said the two jets then dropped four bombs, all of which were detonating.
The official said authorities will suspend the on-site exercises until there is a clear understanding of what went wrong, but the incident will not affect the major South Korean and U.S. military exercises that began Monday.
Residents in the area have been protesting for years the interference and potential dangers of nearby training grounds.
Photos from the scene showed a house being knocked out, hollowed out by broken windows and a church building scattered with debris.
Security camera videos aired on local TV also captured the moment that led to the incident, with a pickup truck driving on tree-lined streets and then consuming the area by the Big Bang.
Pocheon Mayor Baeck Young-Hyun said: “Things of unimaginable happened.
The Defense Department said earlier Thursday that South Korea and U.S. forces are holding their first joint live exercise in Pocheon, which is related to the annual military exercise that will begin next week.
The Chief of Staff (JCS) in Seoul said before the accident that the joint exercise of Freedom Shield, to be held from March 10 to 20, aims to strengthen preparations for threats such as North Korea.
It added that this year’s exercise will reflect “learnings learned from recent armed conflicts” and the growing partnership between North Korea and Russia.
“Our planners are all around the world and identifying trends that are changing, and we look at how to incorporate them into our exercises,” Ryan Donald, spokesman for USFK, told a media briefing Thursday.
Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for Seoul JCS, said the drills are planned for about 70 merged live training courses this year.
