Seven people in South Korea were injured, four of them seriously, after a fighter jet accidentally dropped eight bombs in a civilian district during a live-fire military exercise.
The incident involving the Air Force KF-16 aircraft took place at around 10:04 local time (01:04 GMT) in the city of Pocheon, near the border with North Korea.
Only one bomb is believed to have exploded. A bomb disposal team is working on safely disposing the other seven unexploded bombs, Pocheon authorities told the BBC. They said residents living near the area have been evacuated.
While shells from live firing exercises sometimes land near civilian residences, they rarely cause injuries.
According to local media reports, two people suffered fractures to their necks and shoulders.
“Our KF-16 (jet fighter) abnormally dropped 8 shells of MK-82 bombs. It landed outside of firing range,” said Korea’s Air Force in a statement to the BBC.
It added that it was investigating the incident and apologised for the damage, adding it would provide compensation to those affected.
One church building and houses were also damaged as a result of the incident.
Images published on local media show a broken window of a building and damaged roof of the church.
The defence ministry said the training on Thursday was related to a joint drill with US forces.
South Korea and the US are set to run combined drills from March 10 to March 20 – the first since US president Donald Trump’s return to the White House. This comes at a time when the two countries are increasingly wary of the growing alliance between North Korea and Russia.