WATERY NIGHTMARE
Crash, then flood on tragic US warship
The Navy on Sunday revealed details of the final moments of seven sailors who died aboard the destroyer that collided with a container ship near Japan, ripping open the warship and sending seawater gushing into the cabins where the men slept.
“The damage was significant. This was not a small collision,” Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of the Navy’s 7th Fleet, said at a press conference in Yokosuka, Japan, where the USS Fitzgerald was back at its home port.
The Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal plowed into the farsmaller Fitzgerald at around 2:20 a.m. Saturday, “opening the hull to the sea” and flooding three large compartments that included two berthing areas for 116 crew members, Aucoin said.
The destroyer’s captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was trapped in his cabin, which was hit directly, Aucoin said. Benson, who took command of the Fitzgerald last month, survived but had to be airlifted to Naval Hospital Yokosuka. He was listed in stable condition.
The 300 sailors under his command sprang into action to contain the flooding and save the ship from sinking, then navigated the damaged Fitzgerald into the busy port with only a magnetic compass and backup equipment.
“Heroic efforts prevented the flooding from catastrophically spreading, which could have caused the ship to founder or sink. It could have been much worse,” Aucoin said. “They are known as the ‘Fighting Fitz,’ and the crew lived up to that name.”
On Sunday, the Navy identified the dead as Gunner’s Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, of Palmyra, Va.; Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, of San Diego; Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, of Oakville, Conn.; Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, of Weslaco, Texas; Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, of Chula Vista, Calif.; Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, of Halethorpe, Md.; and Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, of Elyria, Ohio.
“Their loved ones are what makes this Navy great, so this loss is something we all do feel,” Aucoin said.
Two other sailors were in the hospital with minor injuries.
It was not clear what caused the collision, but Japanese authorities were reportedly investigating possible “professional negligence.”
Japanese media reported that the ACX Crystal made a “sharp turn” shortly before the crash. Local investigators were questioning the 20 Filipino crew members who were on the 728-foot merchant ship.