Number of damaged houses in accidental bombing grows to 152
A dog stands near a damaged house at the site of an accidental fighter jet bombing over a village in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, March 7. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
The number of houses damaged in last week's accidental bombing of a northern village has grown by 10 to 152 following a third survey, the local government said Monday.
The village in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, suffered large-scale damage after two KF-16 fighter jets "abnormally" dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range during live-fire drills Thursday.
Initially, 58 houses were reported damaged, but the number has grown with every new survey, and following a third survey, grew from 142 to 152, according to the Pocheon municipal government.
The number of people injured in the accident stands at 31: 19 civilians and 12 soldiers.
"We plan to continue damage surveys this week, so the damage tally could change," a municipal official said.
The central government has declared the affected area a special disaster zone, entitling it to financial support for recovery work and relief funds for victims. (Yonhap)