Seven missing after US destroyer collision off Japan

TOKYO: Rescue crews searched into the early hours on Saturday for seven American sailors missing after a US destroyer collided with a container ship in the pre-dawn hours off the coast of Japan.

US 7th Fleet Vice Admiral Joseph P Aucoin said the search was continuing in a statement released nearly 24 hours after the USS Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, collided with the much larger Philippine-flagged merchant vessel 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka.

“It’s been a tough day for our Navy family. It’s hard to imagine what this crew has had to endure, the challenges they’ve had to overcome,” Aucoin said.

US and Japanese aircraft and surface vessels continued the search after the Fitzgerald sailed into the port of Yokosuka south of Tokyo.

Three aboard the destroyer were treated at the US Naval Hospital, including ship Commander Bryce Benson.

It was not clear what caused the collision, which the US Navy said occurred at about 2:30 am local time (1730 GMT).

“Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families. Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance,” US President Donald Trump said in a Twitter post on Saturday.

The Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline, the Navy said.

Japan’s Nippon Yusen KK, which charters the container ship, ASX Crystal, said in a statement it would “cooperate fully” with the Coast Guard’s investigation of the incident.