USA and Japanese joined in air-and-sea search missions Saturday for seven American sailors missing after their Navy destroyer collided with a much-larger container vessel off the coast of Japan.
Earlier, the U.S. Navy said one of its destroyers, the USS Fitzgerald, had collided with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, in the dead of night.
Fitzgerald's commander, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was evacuated by a Japanese naval helicopter while U.S. military copters evacuated two injured United States sailors.
Rescue crews searched into the early hours on Sunday for seven American sailors missing after a USA destroyer collided with a container ship in the pre-dawn hours off the coast of Japan.
A US defense official said there is flooding in three compartments of the Fitzgerald. Three sailors, including the Fitzgerald's commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson, were injured in the collision. She said she spoke with her 23-year-old grandson Jackson Schrimsher and that "it could have been worse so we're grateful", The Associated Press reported.
According to the Navy, a Japanese coast guard helicopter was helping evacuate the injured, and Japanese state broadcaster NHK showed video of an apparently injured person being lifted aboard a coast guard helicopter from the ship.
The Fitzgerald had limited propulsion after suffering damage on the right side below the water line and a US defense official said there was flooding in three compartments.
A U.S. Navy official said after the collision that the bridge was damaged and communication with the ship was limited and hard.
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The Fitzgerald is part of the Yokosuka-based group that includes the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, but it was operating independently of the carrier when the collision occurred, Flanders said.
Nippon Yusen K.K., the Japanese shipping company that operates the Philippine-flagged container ship, said all of its 20-member Filipino crew was safe.
The Pacific Fleet said the extent of injuries and damage to the Fitzgerald are being determined, and the incident is under investigation. The fleet said the Fitzgerald has limited propulsion, and the ship suffered damage on the starboard side below the water line. Three sailors and two other personnel have been hospitalized with injuries, including the destroyer's commander.
Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed Navy crew members working to pump water from flooded sections of the mid-right side of the USS Fitzgerald.
The merchant vessel involved in the collision is the ACX Crystal based in the Philippines.
"Of course we're nervous and scared and just praying", Rita Schrimsher said by telephone from Athens, Alabama.
Japanese vessels first arrived on the scene and the coast guard is leading the search.
The area is particularly busy with sea traffic, said Yutaka Saito of the coast guard. United States navy aircraft would also join Japan's coast guard and maritime self-defence force helicopters, ships and aircraft "to render whatever assistance may be required".
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