South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on residential homes during a military exercise with the US on Thursday, the 6th of March, injuring 15 people and damaging homes and a church, the Air Force and firefighting agency said, according to Reuters.
15 people are reported to have been wounded, including two with serious injuries.
Pocheon, city, whose civilian infrastructure was damaged, is about 40km northeast of Seoul, close to the heavily militarised border with North Korea.
THE SOUTH KOREAN AIR FORCE SAID EIGHT 225KG MK82 BOMBS FROM TWO KF-16 FIGHTER JETS WERE DROPPED OUTSIDE THE DESIGNATED AREA DURING A JOINT EXERCISE.
The accident occurred because the pilot entered the wrong coordinates, a military official said, adding that the two aircraft then dropped four bombs each, all of which detonated.
Authorities will suspend combat drills until they find out what went wrong, but the incident will not affect joint military exercises between South Korea and the US, the official said.
Residents in the area have been protesting for years about the disruption and potential danger posed by the nearby training grounds.
Shrapnel had hit the neck of a 60-year-old man driving a car during the explosion. “I was driving and heard the explosion,” he said. “When I woke up, I was in an ambulance.”
Photos taken at the scene showed a house damaged by the blast, windows smashed and the roof of the church building damaged. Security camera footage was also broadcast, showing the leading up to the explosion.
Footage has now been released which appears to show yesterday’s “accidental bombing” in South Korea, in which an ROKAF KF-16 Multirole Fighter dropped 8 Mk-82 500lb Bombs on the Town of Dong-myeon in the Gyeonggi Province, during a Live-Fire Exercise with the U.S. Air Force. pic.twitter.com/txb43krnoi
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 6, 2025
“The unthinkable has happened,” said the mayor of Pocheon, who urged the government and the army to develop measures to prevent further threats to civilians.
The incident was linked to the annual Freedom Shield military exercise between South Korea and the US.