SEOUL, South Korea -- An anti-aircraft missile was launched accidentally into busy airspace over the western city of Inchon Friday, injuring at least three people on the ground.

The missile was destroyed automatically by a built-in safety device seconds after it left the launcher, sending a shower of metal fragments over a nearby residential area, officials said.Those injured suffered minor cuts on their heads and hands from tiny metal fragments of the missile that exploded in the air. The fragments also damaged about 20 cars, police said.

The explosion ignited brush fires in nearby hills, but firefighters extinguished them.

The Defense Ministry said the Nike-Hercules missile was fired accidentally by an electronic circuit malfunction during routine training. The ministry apologized for the accident and ordered a thorough checkup of the 33-year-old, U.S.-built missile system.

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One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the missile was believed to have been no more than about 500 yards above ground when it was destroyed.

About 250 passenger and cargo airplanes that use Seoul's Kimpo International Airport pass daily through the airspace over Inchon, according to aviation authorities.

"When the planes fly over Inchon, they are at least 4,000 feet above ground and at least five to 10 miles apart. I would not speculate on what could have happened if the missile had not been destroyed so quickly," said Kim Dong-jin, an official at the Seoul District Air Traffic Control Center.

The national Yonhap news agency reported that at least four commercial planes, including a Singapore Air passenger jet, were above Inchon around the time.

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