Fifteen people in South Korea sustained injuries, including two who were seriously hurt, after a pair of fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs in a civilian area on Thursday during a live-fire military exercise, according to local media reports.
The incident, which involved Air Force KF-16 aircraft, occurred in the city of Pocheon, near North Korea, as part of routine drills conducted by South Korea to maintain combat readiness against potential threats from the North.
South Korea’s Air Force announced that it has launched an investigation into the accident and issued an apology for the damage caused. The military also assured that compensation would be provided to those affected.
Although shells from live-fire exercises occasionally land near civilian areas, incidents resulting in injuries are rare.
Local media reported that two individuals suffered fractures to their necks and shoulders due to the explosion.
According to Yonhap, a 60-year-old driver was injured when shrapnel became lodged in their neck after the blast.
“I was driving when I heard a ‘bang’,” the injured driver recounted. “When I woke up, I was in an ambulance.”
In a statement to the BBC, South Korea’s Air Force explained, “Our KF-16 (fighter jet) abnormally dropped eight shells of MK-82 bombs. It landed outside of firing range.”
Military officials stated that one of the jet pilots mistakenly inputted incorrect coordinates, leading to the bombs being released over a civilian district.
Investigators have yet to determine why the second fighter jet also dropped its bombs. In response to the incident, the military has decided to suspend all live-fire exercises.
The accidental bombing also caused damage to a church building and several houses in the area.
South Korean Fighter Jets
Images published in local media showed a shattered window in a building and a damaged church roof.
A local resident told Yonhap that they had been watching television at home when the explosion occurred, describing the sound as “like a thunderclap” that shook the house.
The director of a nearby senior citizen care center reported that the explosion shattered windows in their facility, and one of their teachers was taken to the hospital with injuries.
While no elderly residents were harmed, the director said, “they were so frightened that we sent them all home.”
Earlier on Thursday, Pocheon authorities informed that residents were evacuated while a bomb disposal team worked to safely remove any unexploded bombs.
However, later reports from Yonhap indicated that authorities did not find any unexploded bombs at the site.
The South Korean defense ministry confirmed that Thursday’s training exercise was part of a joint drill conducted in cooperation with U.S. forces.
From March 10 to March 20, South Korea and the U.S. are scheduled to carry out combined military exercises, marking the first such drills since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
These drills come amid growing concerns over the strengthening alliance between North Korea and Russia.
A similar joint drill between South Korea and the U.S. in 2022 resulted in another accident when troops fired a short-range ballistic missile that malfunctioned and crashed onto a golf course at a military base.
Although the warhead did not detonate, the crash caused a fire and led to panic among local residents.
