USS Fitzgerald collision: Bodies of sailors found in flooded compartments of ship

The bodies of sailors missing since the destroyer the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container vessel were found in flooded compartments in the damaged ship, the United States Navy said on Sunday.

"As search and rescue crews gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision this morning, the missing sailors were located," the U.S. Seventh Fleet said in a statement.

The statement did not say if all seven missing crew members were found in the ship, however Japanese media reported that all seven had been found dead.

However, alater statement from the navy said not all the bodies were recovered.

Most of the nearly 300 sailors aboard would have been asleep in their berths at the time of the collision. Two berthing spaces, a machinery room and the radio room were damaged and began taking in water after the destroyer was rammed mid-right side of the ship.

Those who did not survive might have been killed by the impact of the crash or drowned by the flooding, said Navy spokesman Lieut. Paul Newell, who led reporters for a first look at the mangled vessel.

The U.S. Navy destroyer arrived at its base in Yokosukaearly Saturday after it collided with aPhilippine-flagged container ship more than three times its sizein eastern Japan.

The Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, collidedwith the merchant vessel at about 2:30 a.m. local time, some 56 nautical miles (103 kilometres) southwest of Yokosuka, the Navysaid.

Three aboard the destroyer had been medically evacuated tothe U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, including the ship'scommanding officer, Cmdr. BryceBenson, who was reported to bein stable condition, the Navy said. The other two were beingtreated for lacerations and bruises, while other injured werebeing assessed aboard the ship, it said.

Search and rescue efforts by U.S. and Japanese aircraft andsurface vessels were continuing for the seven missing sailors,the Navy said. Their names are being withheld until the familieshave been notified, it said.

Benson took command of the Fitzgerald on May 13. He hadpreviously commanded a minesweeper based in Sasebo in westernJapan.

Unclear what happened

It was unclear how the collision happened. "Once aninvestigation is complete then any legal issues can beaddressed," the 7th Fleet spokesman said.

The Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side aboveand below the waterline, causing "significant damage" andflooding to two berthing spaces and other areas of the ship, theNavy said. The flooding was later stabilized, but it wasuncertain how long it would take to gain access to those spacesonce the ship is docked, to continue the search for the missing,it said.

The ship was able to operate under its own power withlimited propulsion, the Navy said. The Japanese Coast Guard saidseparately the Fitzgerald was towed back to Yokosuka by atugboat at about 3 knots.

Vessel underwent recent upgrades

Part of an eight-ship squadron based in Yokosuka, theFitzgerald had in February completed $21 million US worth ofupgrades and repairs.

Japan's Nippon Yusen KK, which charters thecontainer ship, ACX Crystal, said in a statement it would"cooperate fully" with the Coast Guard's investigation of theincident. At around 29,000 tons displacement, the ship is farheavier than the 8,315-ton U.S. warship, and was carrying 1,080 containersfrom the port of Nagoya to Tokyo.

None of the 20 crew members aboard the container ship, allFilipino, were injured, and the ship was not leaking oil, NipponYusen said. The ship arrived at Tokyo Bay around 5p.m. (0800GMT), sailing under its own power, the Coast Guard said.

The Japanese shipping company saidin a statement it is collaborating with the ship owner and fully co-operating with the investigation.

Japan's Kyodo News service says the Japanese coast guard is investigating the accident and plans to question the crew members of the ACX Crystal.

The cause of the collision wasn't immediately clear.

The waterways approaching Tokyo Bay are busy with commercialvessels sailing to and from Japan'stwo biggest container portsin Tokyo and Yokohama.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of theFitzgerald, which had a large dent on its right, or starboard,side. Images broadcast by NHK showed it had been struck next toits Aegis radar arrays behind the vertical launch tubes.

Such incidents are rare.

In May, the U.S. Navy's USS Lake Champlain collided with aSouth Korean fishing vessel but both ships were able to operateunder their own power.

The 7th Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, thankedthe Japanese Coast guard in a post on the fleet's Facebook page,adding: "We are committed to ensuring the safe return of theship to port in Yokosuka."