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At least 15 people have been injured after South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, according to the air force fire agency.
Two KF-16 fighter jets were taking part in a joint firing drill with the US military when they dropped eight 500lb (225kg) Mk-82 bombs outside a firing range in Pocheon, the air force said.
Pictures from the scene showed a house with a hole blasted out of it, debris strewn around a church and a shop with shattered windows.
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Pics: Reuters
“There was a sudden loud roar of a fighter jet, then an explosion rang out,” said 65-year-old resident Oh Moung-su.
“When I went to the scene, there were about four houses that were halved from the damage, people hurt. Dust and smoke rose into the sky, water gushed out of a pipe.
“People in a vehicle going to a construction site were injured – some of them couldn’t even get out of the car. Another was outside the car covering his eye.”
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Debris on a damaged church in Pocheon. Pics: Reuters
The air force apologised and said it will offer compensation to the victims.
It said it will establish a committee to investigate why the accident happened and to examine the scale of the damage.
Two of the 15 injured people were seriously hurt, the fire agency said.
The city of Pocheon sits around 40km (25 miles) northeast of the capital Seoul and is close to the heavily militarised border with North Korea.
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South Korean air force fighter jets. File pic: AP
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Officials examine the damaged buildings. Pic: Reuters
The accident was caused by a pilot entering the incorrect coordinates for a bombing site, an unidentified air force official told local reporters. The jets dropped four bombs each, all of which detonated.
Authorities would suspend live-fire exercises until there was a clear understanding of what went wrong, the official said.
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An unidentified Defence Ministry official also said more investigation was required to discover why the second jet also dropped bombs on the civilian area.
“The unthinkable has happened,” Pocheon city mayor Baeck Young-hyeun said.
Local residents have protested about the potential danger of the nearby training grounds for years, and the mayor urged the government and military to come up with measures to prevent any further civilian damage.
Earlier on Thursday, the defence ministry said South Korea and US forces were holding their first joint live-fire exercises in Pocheon.
They are linked to the annual Freedom Shield military drills, due to start next week and run for 10 days, which are aimed at strengthening the alliance’s readiness for threats such as North Korea, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said before the accident.
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