15 civilians hurt as bombs dropped by mistake

SEOUL — Fifteen people were injured on Thursday after two South Korean fighter jets mistakenly dropped bombs on a civilian area during live-fire drills.

Two KF-16 fighter jets dropped four air-to-surface bombs by mistake outside a live-fire range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, at about 10:04 am, according to the defense ministry.

The misguided bombing resulted from pilot errors as the pilot of one fighter jet entered target coordinates incorrectly.

An investigation was underway for the mistaken bombing by the pilot of the other fighter jet.

The accident destroyed a church, houses and vehicles, leaving 15 people, including two soldiers and two foreigners, wounded, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Two male civilians suffered serious injuries to their face and shoulder, but these injuries were not life-threatening.

Earlier in the day, South Korea and the United States held a combined live-fire exercise in Pocheon, mobilizing more than 160 pieces of military hardware such as tanks, self-propelled howitzers, helicopters and fighter jets. The South Korean military decided to suspend all live-fire drills until the exact cause of the accident was identified.

Pocheon Mayor Baek Young-hyun told reporters at the scene that all military exercises should be stopped, urging the government and the military to take follow-up measures that can relieve anxiety among the people.

The accident came ahead of the scheduled joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States later this month.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the combined forces of South Korea and the United States will conduct an annual springtime war game called Freedom Shield from March 10 to March 20.

People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, or PSPD, a South Korean civic group, said in a statement that it would be dangerous and careless to stage large-scale war exercises in inter-Korean border areas.

The PSPD urged South Korea and the United States to immediately call off the scheduled military exercise or reduce the scale of dangerous maneuvering and live-fire drills drastically.

Xinhua