South Korea Troops Fire At Asiana Airlines Plane Thinking It Was A North Korean Military Jet | World News | Sky News

A passenger plane had a lucky escape after South Korean troops fired at it thinking it was a North Korean military jet.

Two marine corps soldiers spotted the plane - owned by a South Korean airline - flying close to the sea border with North Korea at 4am Friday morning.

The soldiers, both said to be 18, fired their rifles at the low-flying jet for 10 minutes but luckily the plane was out of their gun range.

The Asiana Airlines flight from China, carrying 119 passengers and crew, was making its descent to Incheon Airport in Seoul at the time.

Luckily the plane was flying out of range of the marine's machine guns

The soldiers believed the plane was flying outside the normal flight path but the airline said the plane never veered of course.

An Asiana Airlines official said: "We checked yesterday through the air force and the airport control centre to make sure there were no abnormalities such as being off course."

According to local reports, marine corps officers will now undergo thorough training on identifying civilian aircraft.

The plane had started descending to Seoul airport

Tension remains high between the two Korean countries, still technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

The North bombed the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong recently after the South test-fired shells into disputed waters.

South Korean warship in March 2010 which was hit by a torpedo.

via news.sky.com