Military

DATE=08/12/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=KOREA U-S PLANE (LONG)

NUMBER=2-306389

BYLINE=STEVE HERMAN

DATELINE=TOKYO

CONTENT=

INTRO: Two U-S soldiers have died in a plane crash near a town in South Korea. Steve Herman in Tokyo has details.

TEXT: South Korean and U-S officials say a small U-S army plane crashed in a field 70 kilometers south of Seoul. South Korean police say the two soldiers flying the plane were killed when it hit a greenhouse and exploded.

Eighth Army spokesman Major Lee Packnett confirmed the plane went down not far from a U-S military base.

/// PACKNETT ACT ///

We had a C-12 twin-turbo passenger-cargo aircraft crashed about seven miles (11 kilometers) southwest of Camp Humphreys at Pyongtaek, Republic of Korea, today at 2:43 p-m.

/// END ACT ///

Witnesses told authorities it appeared that the plane was trying to make an emergency landing. South Korean officials say the plane crashed in a garlic field behind a restaurant. There were no casualties on the ground.

The aircraft - the military version of the

Beechcraft Super King Air - belonged to the

Army's 52nd Aviation Battalion.

Also Tuesday, South Korean police detained a U-S Army officer who is reported to have been seen trying to throw a body into the Yellow Sea. A police investigator says a bag containing the body of a woman was found in muddy salt water below the bridge, near the international airport at Inchon.

U-S military officials say they are cooperating fully with the Korean police investigation. They identify the arrested officer as Major Richard Hart.

Accidents and crimes involving the 37-thousand U-S troops in South Korea often spark civilian protests.

Several of the U-S bases are near heavily populated areas, causing friction with surrounding communities.

Protests surged last year after two 13-year-old schoolgirls were crushed to death by an armored vehicle operated by two U-S soldiers. (Signed)

NEB/HK/SH/KPD