South Korean F-16 Drill Goes Awry As Civilians Bombed As a substitute

• South Korea’s navy stated its KF-16s by accident discharged eight bombs on a village on Thursday.
• The five hundred-pound MK-82 bombs injured 15 folks in Pocheon, the navy stated.
• Preliminary navy findings point out {that a} pilot put within the incorrect coordinates for the bombing run.

South Korea’s fighter jets by accident bombed its personal civilians throughout a live-fire drill on Thursday, Seoul’s navy stated.

At round 10 a.m. Thursday native time, two KF-16 fighters dropped eight 500-pound MK-82 bombs on the village of Pocheon, South Korea’s air drive stated at a briefing.

At the very least 15 folks have been injured, and several other homes have been broken, per studies from native South Korean media retailers.

A South Korean air drive spokesperson stated the bombs have been “abnormally discharged” and fell exterior the live-firing space.

“We’re sorry for the harm brought on by this accident, and want the injured a speedy restoration,” the spokesperson stated.

The spokesperson added that preliminary findings indicated that one of many pilots had used the incorrect coordinates for a bombing run.

Pocheon, which has a inhabitants of about 141,000, is northeast of Seoul. At round 20 miles from the closely armed demilitarized zone, it is one of many nation’s closest city facilities to the border with North Korea.

Pictures printed by South Korean media retailers confirmed rural homes with shattered home windows, broken roofing, and particles littered on the road. Many of the hit buildings remained structurally intact.

The MK-82 is an unguided general-purpose bomb, that means it may be used for all kinds of assault missions. The jet that dropped the bombs, the KF-16, is a South Korean model of the American F-16 Combating Falcon.

CNN, citing the South Korean air drive, reported that the live-fire drill was linked to Freedom Protect, a yearly joint navy train with the US.

It is scheduled to start this yr on March 10 and finish on March 20.