US sailors’ bodies found inside flooded destroyer after ship collision off Japan

THE bodies of US sailors missing after their destroyer collided with a container ship off Japan have been found in flooded sleeping berths, a day after the accident tore a huge gash in the warship’s side, the US Navy said yesterday.

Seven sailors were reported missing after Saturday’s predawn collision, triggering a major search operation off Japan’s Pacific coast, and US authorities tacitly acknowledged there were no survivors.

“The search and rescue is over,” US 7th Fleet commander Vice-Admiral Joseph Aucoin said.

He described huge amounts of water that gushed into the sleeping compartments after part of the ship’s right side was caved in.

The navy said it had found a number of bodies inside the guided missile destroyer, but did not specify if all seven crew had been found dead in the search that took place after the ship limped back into harbour.

A final toll would not be released until the sailors’ families had been contacted, the navy said.

However, Aucoin said the destroyer sustained a large gash below the waterline, and nearby crew would have had little chance to escape the water that poured through the breach.

“It was 2.20am. A significant part of the crew was sleeping,” he said, standing on the pier in front of the docked destroyer at its base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo.

“There wasn’t a lot of time in spaces that were open to the sea.

“So it was traumatic. As to how much warning they had – I don’t know.”

The damaged ship was salvageable but would likely take months to fix, Aucoin said. The container ship, the 222-metre Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, came into port with large scrapes on its bow, but none of its crew were injured, Japan’s coastguard said.

Aucoin declined to say what might be to blame for the accident.

“We will update you once the investigation process is complete,” he said. The accident set off a major US-Japanese search-and-rescue operation on Saturday.

“Our government expresses its heartfelt solidarity with the United States at this difficult time, and will spare no effort in supplying any and all assistance,” Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said yesterday.