- A US Navy official says all seven sailors found deceased
- The bodies were found more than 24 hours after the collision
Though this is incredibly unfortunate this is logical because this happened around 2 AM when most sailors would be asleep in their berths. They likely were crushed by the collision when it happened so at least it was quick, hopefully.
Seven US sailors dead
Breaking News
begin quote from:
Sailors' bodies were found in flooded compartments more than a day after collision with a merchant ship
Best photos last month from the US military
Missing Fitzgerald sailors found dead in flooded compartments
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(CNN)All
seven missing sailors from the USS Fitzgerald were found dead in
flooded berthing compartments following the warship's collision with a
merchant vessel, a US Navy official tells CNN.
The
Navy's 7th Fleet said searchers found the bodies Sunday morning, Japan
time, after the guided-missile destroyer returned to its base in Japan.
"This
loss is something we all feel," Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of
the US 7th Fleet, told reporters alongside the ship at Yokosuka Naval
Base in Japan Sunday.
"We
have found a number of the remains ... of our missing shipmates, and
our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those shipmates," he
said.
Navy to investigate USS Fitzgerald incident 00:57
The
Navy would not specify the number of dead, Aucoin said, until all
families of the deceased had been notified, but he confirmed all search
and rescue efforts had ended.
The admiral's comments Sunday indicated the loss of life could have been much worse.
"There was a big puncture, a big gash underneath the waterline" near the ship's keel, Aucoin said.
The
water flow into compartments that were berthing areas for 116 of the
ship's crew was "tremendous", he said. In total, the US destroyer had
330 sailors on board.
Aucoin said
the cabin of the Fitzgerald's captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was
completely destroyed. "He's lucky to be alive," he added.
Benson
was flown off the crippled ship by helicopter after the accident and
was being treated at the naval hospital at Yokosuka, according to
Aucoin, as were two other sailors who were medevaced.
Crew saved ship from sinking
The admiral said the ship had been in danger of sinking but was saved by the "heroic efforts" of the crew.
"I'm really proud of the crew (for) how they reacted and were able to save the ship," he said.
The
10,000-ton guided-missile destroyer and the ACX Crystal, a 29,000-ton
container ship flagged in the Philippines, collided early Saturday local
time in off Japan's Izu Peninsula, officials said. The area sees heavy
maritime traffic, with 400 to 500 vessels crossing it daily.
The destroyer suffered severe damage to its starboard side, while the container ship sustained light damage.
The USS Fitzgerald heads to Yokosuka Naval Base after a collision with a container ship on Saturday.
While photos showed serious damage above the waterline, the container ship also did severe damage below it.
A
7th Fleet statement said the collision did "significant damage and
associated flooding to two berthing spaces, a machinery space, and the
radio room."
The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald arrives at the US Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan, on Saturday.
Container
ships like the Crystal have bulbous bows under the waterline and that
portion of the cargo vessel plowed into the US warship.
The Fitzgerald had left the base Friday for routine operations.
Multiple investigations expected
Aucoin
said there would be multiple investigations into the collision,
including one by the Navy's Judge Advocate General and one by the US
Coast Guard.
Other investigations
could come from the Japanese and Philippine authorities, because of
where the accident took place and the Philippine registry of the
container ship.
The
Fitzgerald is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer with a
crew of approximately 330 sailors. The vessel is 505 feet long. It is
homeported in Yokosuka.
No one hurt on merchant ship
The
ACX Crystal container ship is chartered by Japanese shipping company
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and owned by Dainichi-Invest
Corporation, NYK said.
No one aboard the Crystal was hurt, and no oil spilled from the vessel, NYK said. It was back in port Sunday.
The container ship ACX Crystal is seen in the waters off Japan after it had collided with the USS Fitzgerald on Saturday.
NYK and the ship's owner are cooperating with a Japan Coast Guard investigation into the collision, the shipping firm said.
"Our thoughts and deep concerns go out to all those directly affected," NYK said.
Photos of the Crystal showed damage to its bow.
The
ship, which handles general cargo, is manned by a captain and a crew of
20, NYK said. It was built in 2008 and is about 730 feet long.
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