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US navy destroyer Fitzgerald collides with merchant ship off coast of Japan
Seven missing after US navy destroyer Fitzgerald collides with merchant ship off Japan
(35 minutes later)
Seven crew members are missing and after a US navy destroyer collided with a merchant vessel south-west of Yokosuka, Japan.
Seven Navy sailors are missing and one was injured after a US destroyer collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan.
One sailor was being airlifted to hospital and it was not known if any other members of the crew of were injured, the US navy said on Friday. But the Japanese coastguard said seven crew members were unaccounted for.
Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed heavy damage to the mid-right side of the USS Fitzgerald and a person in a stretcher being lifted to a helicopter.
Takeshi Aikawa said the injured sailor had a head injury, but details of his or her condition were unknown. Footage from broadcaster NHK showed a person in a stretcher being lifted to a helicopter.
The Navy’s 7th Fleet said on its Facebook page that the number of injuries was still being determined. The Fitzgerald has limited propulsion after suffering damage on the starboard side below the water line. A US defence official said there was flooding in three compartments.
In a statement, the navy said the USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel 56 nautical miles south-west of Yokosuka and the extent of injuries to US personnel “is being determined”.
The Japan coast guard said it received an emergency call from a Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal around 2:20am (1720 GMT Friday) that it had collided with the USS Fitzgerald about 100 miles southwest of Yokusuka, Japan.
The ships collided at approximately 2:30am local time on Saturday, causing serious damage to the destroyer. The USS Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline and flooding in some parts. So far no damage or injuries have been reported on the container ship. NHK reported that the merchant ship had scratches on the left side of its bow.
Coast guard official Takeshi Aikawa said seven navy crew members are unaccounted for, and one had a head injury. Further details of his or her condition were not known.
Two cutters and a helicopter from the Japanese coast guard were on scene and providing assistance, the navy statement said.
Relatives of crew members were awaiting news of their loved ones. “Of course we’re nervous and scared and just praying,” Rita Schrimsher said by telephone from Athens, Alabama.
“The USS Fitzgerald is under her own power, although her propulsion is limited.”
Her grandson Jackson Schrimsher is a 23-year-old sailor aboard the Fitzgerald. She said she last communicated with him via Facebook messenger on Wednesday.
More aircraft and ships, including the USS Dewey and two navy tugs were being dispatched as quickly as practicable to provide assistance.
Aikawa said the ship was partially flooded because of damage. So far no damage or injuries had been reported on the container ship, he said. NHK reported that the merchant ship had scratches on the left side of its bow.
The US Seventh Fleet said on Twitter that the ship would return to Yokosuka.
The Philippine ship is 29,060 tons and is 222 metres (730ft) long, the coast guard said.
Japan’s public broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of the destroyer, which had a large dent in the right side of the ship.
The Navy said that the collision occurred 56 nautical miles (103km) southwest of Yokosuka, a city south of Tokyo that is home to the 7th Fleet.
Images broadcast by NHK showed the US ship has been struck on its starboard side next to its Aegis radar arrays behind its vertical launch tubes.
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.
In the US, relatives of crew members were awaiting news of their loved ones.
The navy’s Pacific Fleet said the extent of injuries and damage to the Fitzgerald are being determined, and the incident is under investigation.
Rita Schrimsher of Athens, Alabama, said “of course we’re nervous and scared and just praying.”
Her grandson Jackson Schrimsher is a 23-year-old sailor aboard the USS Fitzgerald. She said she last communicated with him via Facebook messenger on Wednesday.
The Japanese coastguard said the merchant vessel was a Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal. A spokesman for the Philippines coast guard said he had heard of the accident but had no details since it was not in Philippine waters.
The 154-metre (505ft) USS Fitzgerald is based at Yokosuka, south of Yokohama and Tokyo, and operates in the Pacific and the Sea of Japan.
Such incidents are rare. In May, the USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel but both ships were able to operate under their own power.
Situated at the approach to Tokyo bay, Yokosuka and the waters to its south are a busy commercial waterway plied by commercial vessels sailing to and from Japan*s two biggest container ports in Tokyo and Yokohama.
