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A U.S. Air Force A-10 fighter, which was experiencing engine trouble, dropped six bombs on a training range in Hwasong County, Kyonggi Province, damaging some 170 houses nearby and injuring seven residents, police said yesterday.

Police said the incident took place at 8:30 a.m. Monday, when one of three USAF A-10 fighters, which were en route from Songtan Air Base in Kyonggi Province to a training range near Kunsan, dropped six 500-pound bombs on the USAF Koon-ni Range.

The A-10 fighter dropped the bombs as an emergency measure to reduce the aircraft's weight, police said. A-10s are recognized primarily for their close air support of ground forces and are commonly known as "tank killers."

The training range, mainly used by F-16 and A-10 fighters at Osan and Kunsan air bases, is on Nong Island, off the coast of Maehyang-ni, Hwasong County.

Police said the bombs caused explosions that shattered windows and damaged the walls and roofs of some 170 houses in Maehyang-ni.

Shocked by the bombing, seven villagers there, including 76-year-old Oh Il-sun and 55-year-old Choi Kye-wol, suffered slight injuries while fleeing their homes, police said. They were rushed to a nearby clinic for treatment, police said.

"The explosions were loud enough to be heard in Choam-ni, some 10 km away from the range, and if the bombing had happened at low tide, the damage would have been much greater," said Kim Young-tae, head of Maehyang village.

The villagers plan to form a task force to assess the extent of the damage from the bombing and seek compensation from the U.S. Air Force.

Hwasong County officials said they would do their best to obtain compensation for villagers affected by the bombing. They said the Defense Ministry and United States Forces Korea (USFK) would launch their own probes into the incident.

The Koon-ni Range was built in 1955 on a 7.19 million pyong (23.73 million sq. meter) sea and land area. USAF F-16 and A-10 fighters conduct strafing and bombing training there for about 60 hours a week.

Citing noise problems, villagers near the range have demanded the relocation of the U.S. training area for the past 15 years.

The villagers filed a lawsuit with a Seoul court in February 1998, seeking damages for problems caused by the training noise.

"The issue of relocating the Koon-ni Range has long been a source of tension with the villagers and I know that the Defense Ministry is mapping out measures in close consultation with the USFK," said USFK spokesman Kim Yong-kyu.