7 crew members reported missing after US Navy destroyer collides with Japanese merchant ship
TOKYO (KUSI) — U.S. Navy crews are still searching for seven missing sailors in the sea of Japan after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Japanese cargo ship.
7:30 a.m. Sat. — The U.S. Navy says the search is continuing for seven missing American sailors in the sea of Japan, after a collision between a Navy destroyer and a huge cargo ship.
The Navy says it remains uncertain how long it will take to gain access to the spaces inside the damaged destroyer in order to methodically search for the missing crew members.
Aircraft and vessels have been looking for the missing personnel since the two ships crashed in the pre-dawn hours Saturday.
The USS Fitzgerald is back at its home port in Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo, with extensive damage to its hull.
The Navy says the ship was damaged above and below the water line.
In a tweet Sunday, the Navy says the search for the missing sailors is continuing.
Investigators now face trying to determine how a sophisticated U.S. warship collided with a container ship four times its size.
4:30 a.m. Sat. — Aircraft and vessels are searching for seven missing American sailors in the sea off Japan after a pre-dawn collision between a Navy destroyer and a huge cargo ship.
Investigators now face trying to determine how a sophisticated U.S. warship collided with a container ship four times its size.
The USS Fitzgerald was back at its home port in Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo on Saturday with extensive damage to its hull.
Most of the more than 200 sailors aboard would have been asleep in their berths during the pre-dawn crash.
The Navy says the ship was damaged above and below the water line.
11:35 p.m. — President Donald Trump has thanked Japan for its help in the search for seven Navy sailors who are missing after their U.S. destroyer collided with a container ship.
Trump tweeted Saturday morning Washington time: "Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families. Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance."
The USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship four times its size off the coast of Japan before dawn Saturday.
9:06 p.m. — Two USS Fitzgerald crew members were evacuated from the destroyer after it collided with a Japanese merchant ship.
The Navy reported that Cmdr. Bryce Benson, the ship’s commanding officer, was evacuated to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka. The extent of his injuries was unknown, but he was listed as being in stable condition.
Details of the second injured crew member were not immediately available.
4:25 p.m. — Seven crew members are reportedly missing after a U.S. Navy destroyer — the USS Fitzgerald — collided with a Japanese merchant ship Saturday morning (GMT).
The Navy reported the USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant ship 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, a city south of Tokyo. A U.S. defense official said there is flooding in three compartments of the Fitzgerald.
According to the Associated Press, seven crew members are reportedly missing, with one known injury, although the number of injuries is still being determined.
Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed heavy damage to the mid-right side of the Navy ship, which appeared to be stationary in the water.
According to AP, the Japanese Coast Guard received an emergency call from a Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal at around 2:20 a.m. (1720 GMT Friday) that it had collided with the USS Fitzgerald at a location about 12 miles southeast of the Irozaki cape.
The fleet said the USS Dewey, medical assistance and two Navy tugs were being dispatched as quickly as possible and that naval aircraft were being readied to help. The Japan coast guard dispatched five patrol ships and an aircraft carrying medics to the site for search and rescue operations.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
