Stray hunters accidentally drop bombs on South Korean residential area during exercise
Two South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs of the MK-82 bombs on a residential area in the northern city of Pocheon during a military exercise. Due to the exploded bombs, each weighing 225 kilos, fifteen people would have been injured, two of whom are in critical condition. Reuters news agency reports this on the basis of a statement from the Air Force, local authorities and an anonymous source at the Ministry of Defense.
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the Air Force has announced that there is an error from the pilot, who has confused coordinates. Residents of the South Korean city of Pocheon have been taking action against the nuisance and the danger of local military training sessions for years.
The South Korean armed forces apologize and compensation and express the hope that the wounded will recover quickly. A special committee is rigged to find out the circumstances of the incident and to include civil damage. Three houses, a Catholic church and a greenhouse are partially damaged, but probably not by a direct bombing.
Before the incident took place, the South Korean Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that together with American armed forces were being practiced in the airspace above Pocheon, in connection with the annual military exercises that start on Monday. Until March 20, the countries perform joint exercises to arm themselves against potential threat from North Korea and Russia.