A soldier cries at a joint funeral in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Aug. 21, 2017, for his colleagues killed in a howitzer blast at a firing range in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s Army said Monday it has suspended the use of K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers for training purposes after a deadly blast at a local firing range last week.
But it has left more than 1,000 K-9s already deployed for combat in operation.
Two Army soldiers were killed when a 155-mm K-9 blew up during a firing drill in Cheorwon, a county in the eastern province of Gangwon near the border with North Korea. Five others were wounded.
The explosion seems to be attributable to smoke from the breech that led to the combustion of gunpowder, Army investigators said.
They have yet to find out the cause for the smoke.
The Army held a joint funeral for the victims earlier in the day: a 27-year-old sergeant first class and a 22-year-old private first class. Both of them were posthumously promoted by a rank.
(Yonhap)
