Ten US sailors missing after collision
SINGAPORE: Ten US sailors were missing and five injured after their destroyer collided with a tanker near Singapore on Monday, tearing a large hole in its hull in the second accident involving an American warship in two months.
The badly damaged USS John S Mccain limped into port in the city-state in the afternoon under escort after the dramatic pre-dawn accident, which sent water flooding into the vessel.
A major search involving ships and aircraft from three countries was launched for the missing sailors after the collision with the Alnic MC in the Singapore Strait, near the Strait of Malacca.
Analysts said the accident, so soon after June’s collision off Japan involving a US warship, raised questions about whether the US Navy was overstretched in Asia as it seeks to combat Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
The US Navy said there was “significant damage to the hull” of the warship in the latest collision, which led to flooding of crew sleeping areas, machinery and communications rooms.
“Damage control efforts by the crew halted further flooding,” they said in a statement after the John S. Mccain arrived at Changi Naval Base in the city-state.
A helicopter took four of the injured to a Singapore hospital with injuries that were not lifethreatening while the fifth did not need further medical attention, the navy said.
The 505-foot (154-metre) ves- sel could still sail under its own power after the collision at 5:24 am (2124 GMT Sunday) with the Liberian-flagged tanker, which was slightly bigger at 600 feet. Two other vessels escorted it into port.
The warship had been heading for a routine stop in Singapore after carrying out a “freedom of navigation operation” in the disputed South China Sea earlier in August around a reef in the Spratly Islands, sparking a furious response from Beijing.
The vessel is named after US Senator John Mccain’s father and grandfather, who were both admirals in the US navy.
Mccain said in a tweet that he and his wife “are keeping America’s sailors aboard the USS John S Mccain in our prayers tonight - appreciate the work of search & rescue crews”.
President Donald Trump initially said “that’s too bad” in response to reporters’ shouted questions about the collision, as he arrived back at the White House after a holiday.
He followed up with a Tweet: “Thoughts & prayers are w/ our @Usnavy sailors aboard the #Ussjohnsmccain where search & rescue efforts are underway.”