[Yonhap News Photo]
A South Korean naval plane has accidentally dropped anti-ship missiles and other weapons into the sea during its routine flight on patrol south of the inter-Korean maritime border, sparking a search by naval ships.
The release of three missiles, a torpedo and depth charges was reported at 6:10 am (2110 GMT) Monday when the crew of the P-3CK anti-submarine and surveillance plane pushed the wrong button by mistake, the defense ministry said.
The weapons were not activated, causing no damage, it said, adding naval ships including a minesweeper have been mobilized for a search to retrieve them in waters about 50 kilometers (31 miles) off Yangyang.
The mistake came a day before about 20 South Korean warships staged the year's first sea exercise to test their readiness against North Korean threats.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
