Seven American sailors are still unaccounted for after a US Navy destroyer’s collision with a merchant ship as Japanese and American authorities continue searching.
The US 7th Fleet said in a statement on Saturday that search and rescue efforts were underway by aircraft and boat to find the seven crew members from the USS Fitzgerald.
The guided-missile destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged 730-foot container ship some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan around 2:30 am local.
“This has been a difficult day,” Vice Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin, the commander of the US 7th Fleet, said in the statement. “I am humbled by the bravery and tenacity of the Fitzgerald crew. Now that the ship is in Yokosuka, I ask that you help the families by…