Seven navy crew off japan

Seven US Navy crew members are missing after
their ship collided with a merchant vessel off the
coast of Japan.
Among the injured is the USS Fitzgerald's
commanding officer, who was taken to hospital
by helicopter.
The destroyer collided with the container ship
about 56 nautical miles (104km) south-west of
Yokosuka.
Aerial images showed heavy damage to the Navy
ship's starboard side after the collision at about
02:30 local time on Saturday (18:30 BST Friday).
The ship's commanding officer, Cdr Bryce
Benson, was in a stable condition after being
transferred to US Naval Hospital Yokosuka,
according to Navy officials.
Two other sailors were flown to hospital by
helicopter for treatments for "lacerations and
bruises", said the US 7th Fleet via Twitter.
It said earlier that the USS Fitzgerald had
experienced flooding in some areas, and the full
extent of injuries was being determined.
It also said the 154-metre (505ft) ship was now
on its way to Yokosuka - under its own power,
but with limited propulsion.
One of the most advanced warships in the world
- Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC News, Tokyo
The area where the collision took place is
extremely busy, with shipping heading in and out
of Tokyo bay.
However, the USS Fitzgerald is one of the most
advanced warships in the world - with highly
sophisticated radars systems.
There will now be lots of questions about why its
crew failed to avoid collision with a 200m (700ft)
long container ship.
The coast guard said the ACX Crystal container
ship carried a Filipino flag and weighed just
under 30,000 tonnes, about three times that of
the USS Fitzgerald.
It sustained lighter damage to the port bow,
according to Japanese national broadcaster
NHK.
In a statement released on social media, US
Navy operations chief Adm John Richardson
said: "As more information is learnt we will be
sure to share it with the Fitzgerald families and
when appropriate the public. [...]
All our thoughts and concerns are with the
Fitzgerald crew and their families."
Share this story About sharing

Share on Google Plus

About Unknown

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.