10 sailors missing in Asia wreck

TEN SAILORS were missing and five were injured early Monday after a Navy guided-missile destroyer collided with a merchant vessel near Singapore, officials said.

The John S. McCain and the chemical tanker Alnic MC crashed into each other east of Singapore in the South China Sea while the warship was traveling to Singapore at 6:24 a.m. local time Monday, the Navy said in a statement.

A Singaporean Navy helicopter evacuated four of the five injured sailors to a hospital in the city-state for treatment of injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. The fifth sailor did not require further medical attention.

Initial reports indicated that the ship had damage to its left side near the back, according to the statement. A search for the missing sailors was underway.

President Trump responded to news of the collision, saying, “That’s too bad,” according to pool reports.

Trump later tweeted, “Thoughts & prayers are w/ our @USNavy sailors aboard the #USSJohnSMcCain where search & rescue efforts are underway.”

The ship is named for Sen. John McCain’s grandfather and father, who both were Navy admirals.

“Cindy & I are keeping America’s sailors aboard the USS John S. McCain in our prayers tonight — appreciate the work of search & rescue crews,” McCain, an Arizona Republican and retired Navy captain, tweeted.

Singapore’s government said no crew were injured on the Liberianflagged Alnic, which sustained damage to a compartment at the front of the ship some 23 feet above its waterline.

The crash at sea is the second accident involving a ship from the Navy’s 7th Fleet in the Pacific in two months. The destroyer Fitzgerald collided with a freighter off the coast of Japan on June 17, leaving seven sailors dead.