They hit their own: the South Korean Air Force dropped bombs on residential buildings

On Thursday, March 6, the South Korean Air Force mistakenly dropped eight bombs on the city of Pyongchong on the border with North Korea during joint exercises with the United States. As a result of the emergency, 15 people were injured, and part of the city buildings were destroyed. According to preliminary data, the reason for the abnormal dropping of bombs on a residential area was pilot error. Representatives of the South Korean Air Force are investigating the incident. For more information about what is known about the accident in Pyongchong, South Korea, and who will be responsible for it, see the Izvestia article.

Bomb explosion in Pyongyang: what happened, the victims

On March 6 at about 10 a.m. (4:00 a.m. Moscow time) The South Korean Air Force announced an abnormal discharge of shells during military exercises held jointly with the United States at the Seungjin training ground, located within the city of Pyeongchong. The city is located 40 km from the border with the DPRK.

Eight MK-82 aerial bombs were accidentally dropped by two KF-16 fighter jets on a residential part of the city. One of the shells landed on the village of Nogok in Idon district, which is located 6 km from the training ground. It has not yet been reported where the remaining bombs landed.

According to preliminary data, 15 people were injured in the accident, Yonhap news agency reports.Two soldiers and two foreigners were among the wounded. The victims had fractures and injuries, ten of them were hospitalized with injuries of varying severity.

"Authorities expect the number of injured to increase as more people seek medical help," Yonhap clarified.

As a result of the bombing, a residential area of the city was damaged. At least seven buildings and a church were destroyed. About 50 people evacuated from the area of the shell drop to the city hall.

Representatives of the South Korean Air Force said they were investigating the incident and apologized to the victims.

What the eyewitnesses said about the incident

Local residents told reporters that at the moment the bombs fell, a deafening sound was heard, after which part of the city turned into ruins.

"I was watching TV at home when suddenly I heard a sound like thunder, and the whole house shook. When I went outside, the neighborhood was in ruins," said one of the eyewitnesses of the accident.

A powerful explosion was also recorded at a center for the elderly, which is located about a kilometer from Pyeongchong.

"Suddenly, the building shook with a sound like an explosion. The window broke, one of the employees was injured and was taken to the hospital," the head of the center said.

Who is to blame for dropping bombs on Pyongchong

According to the Yonhap news agency, the abnormal discharge of shells into a residential area of Pyongchong occurred due to an error by a South Korean Air Force pilot who indicated the wrong coordinates during flight preparation. A representative of the South Korean Ministry of Defense said that the military would suspend all live-fire exercises until the exact cause of the incident was determined.

What is known about the military exercises of South Korea and the United States

On Thursday, March 6, South Korea and the United States conducted joint live-fire exercises near the inter-Korean border. More than 160 units of military equipment took part in them, including K2 tanks, K55A1 self-propelled howitzers, Apache attack helicopters and F-35A stealth aircraft. The training at the Seungjin training ground was conducted as part of the regular joint South Korean-American exercises "Freedom Shield".

"The exercises were a demonstration of firepower in response to military threats from North Korea ahead of the annual spring exercises this month," Yonhap noted.

According to local media, the erroneous dropping of a bomb by the South Korean military on March 6 led to such consequences for the first time. In 2004, an F-5B fighter jet of the South Korean Air Force accidentally dropped a training shell over the city of Poryong, located 138 km south of Seoul. Then, as a result of the incident, no one was injured.