Explosion kills one, injures five at the Darakdae shooting range

Social Affairs

Explosion kills one, injures five at the Darakdae shooting range

Published: 03 Dec. 2009, 22:49

An artillery gun exploded, killing one person and injuring five yesterday at a military shooting range near the Agency for Defense Development in Pocheon, Gyeonggi. The range serves as a proving ground for testing of artillery and other weapons. Provided by the Kyeongin Ilbo

One person was killed and five were injured yesterday when a shell inside an artillery gun exploded at a military shooting range near a state-run defense research institute in Pocheon, Gyeonggi.

According to local police, the explosion occurred around 11:40 a.m. at the Darakdae shooting range near the Agency for Defense Development. Located about one kilometer (0.6 mile) from the agency north of Seoul, the range serves as a proving ground for testing of artillery and other weapons.

Police said the agency’s researchers were conducting performance testing on shells for a 155-millimeter towed gun when the explosion happened. The agency’s testing had been commissioned by a bomb developer.

Gyeonggi firefighters said Jeong Gi-chang, a 40-year-old male employee of the agency, died in the incident.

Gong Byung-chan, 35, lost both of his arms, authorities said, and Kim Myeon-woong, 36, was severely wounded by shrapnel. Both work for the agency.

Kwon Sang-wook, 27; Hwang Jong-ho, 42, and Lim Chang-gil, 48, sustained minor injuries. Kwon was released after being treated for facial burns.

Investigators and officials were scrambling to find out the cause of the explosion. The Ministry of National Defense quickly dispatched a special unit of six officials, including an explosives expert, to cooperate with Pocheon police in the investigation.

“The testers were scheduled to fire 16 shots from the towed gun and, as they attempted the sixth shot, the weapon exploded for reasons yet unknown,” said an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration during a press briefing yesterday. “We believe the shell exploded in the barrel.”

The official said there were about 15 individuals at the scene, including representatives from the agency and from the state-run Defense Agency for Technology and Quality.

He couldn’t confirm whether the victim or those injured were wearing protective gear, including safety vests and helmets.

The first explosion during weapons performance testing occurred on May 17, 1977. Seoul was developing a Vulcan cannon in preparation for a possible North Korean aerial invasion as part of a project to bolster the national defense. When the cannon failed to fire, Lee Seok-pyo, then secretary of defense industry at the Blue House, walked toward the weapon to check for any problems when it suddenly exploded. He was killed instantly. There was another fatal explosion at the Agency for Defense Development in 1981.

In May 2007, a shell blew up inside the barrel during shooting drills on the naval destroyer Munmu the Great. No one was injured.

The Agency for Defense Development was founded in August 1970 under the order of President Park Chung Hee to lay a foundation for an independent, self-reliant national defense.

It developed recoilless rifles, howitzers and ground-to-ground guided missiles in the 1970s. The agency’s recent line of weapons includes the K2 Black Panther battle tank, which can cross water as deep as four meters (13.1 feet); K9 self-propelled howitzers, and K11 rifles.

Headquartered in Daejeon, the agency also has proving grounds for various weapons in Anheung, Gangwon; Jinhae, South Gyeongsang, and Changwon, South Gyeongsang.

By Yoo Jee-ho [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]