Sailors’ bodies are found
Died in flooded areas of crash destroyer
The bodies of some of the seven US sailors missing after a pre-dawn collision off the coast of Japan on Saturday have been found, the Navy said early Sunday.
They were found in compartments below the waterline that flooded when the collision tore holes in their destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald. They died either from the impact or drowned when seawater flooded the compartments.
Most of the approximately 300 sailors on the ship were asleep at the time.
The CBS television affiliate in Charlottesville, Va., identified one of the dead sailors as Dakota Rigsby.
His Facebook page says he’s also a volunteer firefighter in the town of Palmyra, Va.
The Navy said it will release the names of all of the sailors after notifying their families.
At least three other crew members were hurt, including the ship’s captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson.
He was in stable condition with a head injury.
The injured were airlifted by the Japanese Coast Guard to the hospital at the ship’s base in Yokosuka, home of the US Seventh Fleet.
The Fitzgerald, which managed to struggle back to the base under its own power, had recently been participating in exercises in the Sea of Japan with two US carrier strike groups and Japanese navy ships, according to reports.
It sustained significant damage both below and above its waterline.
The Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal sailed on to Tokyo, where officials began questioning crew members about the crash.
It sustained only minor damage. The Japanese shipping company that operates the 728-foot long ship said all of its 20 crew members were safe.
The US Coast Guard will be in charge of the investigation, the Navy said.