Number of damaged houses in accidental bombing grows to 142
The number of houses damaged in last week's accidental bombing of a northern village has grown from 58 to 142 following a second survey, the local government said Sunday, Yonhap reports.
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 on Thursday.
Initially, 58 houses were reported damaged, but the number grew to 99 as of Saturday morning, and following a second survey, grew further to 142, according to the Pocheon municipal government.
Twenty-two households have evacuated their homes, while another nine households have returned following partial restoration work.
The number of injured civilians has also increased by two to 19.
The interior ministry and the local governments of Gyeonggi Province and Pocheon began a third damage survey and safety inspection earlier in the day.
As reported previously, the South Korean government is to declare Pocheon disaster zone after accidental bombing.