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.
