Rescuers Search for 7 Sailors as Damaged U.S. Destroyer Reaches Port
RUSSIA JAPAN Sea of Japan Area of detail JAPAN Tokyo Yokosuka Naval Base Approximate location of collision Pacific Ocean 50 miles JUNE 17, 2017
The Crystal was heading toward Tokyo at the time of the collision, after making a stop on Friday at Nagoya, Japan.
By JONATHAN SOBLE and MOTOKO RICHJUNE 17, 2017
TOKYO — Seven Navy sailors were missing on Saturday after an American destroyer collided with a cargo ship off the coast of Japan, the Navy said.
Seventh Fleet said that Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance.
The cargo ship, the Philippines-registered ACX Crystal, showed deep gashes in its bow, a pattern of damage suggesting
that the Crystal — a much larger vessel, heavy with shipping containers — had collided nose-first into the Fitzgerald’s hull.
Most of the crew would have been asleep in their berths at the time of the collision,
and the Navy said some damaged parts of the ship were still not accessible to rescue teams.
By Saturday night, the Fitzgerald had returned to a nearby American naval base in Japan, aided by tugboats, the Navy said.
The Japanese Coast Guard said it had received an emergency call from the Crystal around 2:20 a.m., reporting the collision in a busy shipping lane.