South Korea issues evacuation orders after a white phosphorus leak.. What happened?

Officials in the city of Pyeongtaek urged residents to move to a safe place and avoid skin exposure to these substances after the leak was detected around 5 p.m. local time at Osan Air Base.

Officials canceled evacuation orders several hours later, as a result of declaring the completion of decontamination work at the base, according to text messages sent by the city.

Security cordon enforced

Police are said to have used vehicles to impose a cordon. Security forces were located at a distance of 300 to 500 meters from the base, prevented pedestrians from entering and changed the path of vehicles.

The 51st Fighter Wing did not mention any leakage of white phosphorus, but reported that a cordon with a diameter of 1,000 feet had been established around the base due to a ground accident and out of extreme caution to protect the base and the local population.