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US Navy Identifies All Seven Sailors Killed in Japan Collision

US Navy Identifies All Seven Sailors Killed in Japan Collision
Damage to the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald is seen as the vessel is berthed at its mother port in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, on June 18, 2017. . / AFP PHOTO / Kazuhiro NOGI 

Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:41 PM EDT

The US Navy on Monday identified all seven sailors killed after their destroyer was partially flooded following a collision with a container ship off Japan's coast over the weekend, confirming their deaths for the first time.

The crew were reported missing after Saturday's predawn collision, triggering a major US-Japanese search operation, with divers scouring damaged areas of the destroyer.

On Sunday, US authorities tacitly acknowledged there were no survivors as they ended the search, but declined to say how many bodies had been found until the families were notified.

The 500-foot Fitzgerald - commissioned in 1995 and deployed in the Iraq war in 2003 - was pulled by a tugboat back to its base on Saturday in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo.

The navy said the bodies of the missing crew were found by the divers in flooded sleeping quarters.

"The remains of seven sailors previously reported missing were located in flooded berthing compartments, after divers gained access to the spaces," it said, adding that the deceased sailors ranged in age from 19 to 37.

On Sunday, US 7th Fleet commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin said the crew would have had little chance of escaping the "tremendous" amount of water that gushed into the ship after the accident left a large gash in its side.

"It was 2:20 in the morning. A significant part of the crew was sleeping," he told reporters.

"There wasn't a lot of time in spaces that were open to the sea.

"So, it was traumatic. As to how much warning they had - I don't know."

Several other US crew members were injured in the accident and had to be evacuated by air to a hospital, including the vessel's commanding officer Bryce Benson.

The container ship, the 222-metre Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, came into port with large scrapes on its bow, but none of its 20 crew were injured.

It was not clear what caused the accident.

The collision happened 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, in a busy shipping channel that is a gateway to major container ports in Tokyo and nearby Yokohama.

There have reportedly been several collisions involving large vessels in the area over the past five years.

Japan's coastguard is conducting an investigation into the accident -- including interviewing the Japanese-owned container ship's Filipino crew - although the US has primary jurisdiction in probing accidents involving military personnel.

© AFP 2024


Newsfront
The US Navy on Monday identified all seven sailors killed after their destroyer was partially flooded following a collision with a container ship off Japan's coast over the weekend, confirming their deaths for the first time.
Japan, US, Philippines, accident
395
2017-41-18
Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:41 PM
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