Fifteen hurt after South Korean fighter jets drop bombs by accident

During a live-fire military drill in South Korea, two fighter jets unintentionally fired eight bombs on a civilian district, injuring 15 people, two of whom were critically, according to local media. The Air Force KF-16 aircraft incident happened in the city of Pocheon, close to the North Korean border, at approximately 10:04 local time (01:04 GMT).

 The Air Force of South Korea apologized for the damage and stated it was looking into the situation. It also promised to compensate anyone who were impacted. Although live firing drill shells occasionally fall close to residential areas, they hardly ever injure anyone.

Reports from the local media state that two individuals sustained shoulder and neck fractures. Shrapnel was embedded in the neck of a 60-year-old driver who was at the wheel when the explosion occurred, according to Yonhap. "I heard a 'bang' while driving," they claimed. "When I woke up, I was in an ambulance." "Unusually, our KF-16 jet aircraft dropped eight MK-82 bomb shells. "It landed beyond the range of fire," the Korean Air Force told the BBC in a statement.
The military reported that the bombs dropped in the civilian community because the pilot of one of the jets accidentally entered the incorrect coordinates.

The military stated that all live-fire drills will be halted and that investigators are still finding out why the second jet dropped its bombs. The incident also caused damage to one church building and several homes. Pictures of a building's broken window and the church's damaged roof were featured in the local media.

According to a local, Yonhap was watching TV at home when the explosion, which sounded "like a thunderclap," rocked the house. According to the director of a nearby senior citizen care center, one of their teachers was injured and transported to the hospital when the building's glass broke. "They were so frightened that we sent them all home," they added, although no elders were harmed.

Residents had been evacuated while a bomb disposal team worked to safely dispose of any unexploded devices, Pocheon authorities informed earlier Thursday. However, Yonhap reported that police later claimed they had not discovered any unexploded bombs at the scene.
According to the defense ministry, Thursday's training was part of a combined exercise with US forces. The first joint drills between the US and South Korea since US President Donald Trump's return to the White House are scheduled for March 10–20. At the same time, the two nations are growing more cautious of North Korea's expanding partnership with Russia.

In 2022, during another joint drill between the US and South Korea, troops fired a short-range ballistic missile that malfunctioned and crashed on the military base's golf course. The warhead exploded into flames and caused terror among the local population even though it did not explode.