News / Military

All 7 missing US sailors found dead inside USS Fitzgerald

Sunday, 18 June 2017 3:40 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 18 June 2017 7:12 PM ]

This picture shows the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald off the Shimoda coast after it collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship on June 17, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

All the seven missing US sailors, who had been unaccounted for after a collision between an American destroyer and a Philippine vessel, were found dead, a US Navy official tells CNN.

The USS Fitzgerald guided-missile destroyer collided with the Philippine-flagged merchant ship ACX Crystal on Friday 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan.

Read more:

US warship collides with Philippine vessel

The reports then said that some of the US personnel were injured and at least seven sailors were missing.

The US Seventh Fleet released a statement, saying that some of the bodies were found in the berthing compartments of the ship that was flooded after the collision.

They were found Sunday morning Japan time after the warship had returned to its home port at Yokosuka.

"As search and rescue crews gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision this morning, the missing sailors were located," read the statement.

"The families are being notified and being provided the support they need during this difficult time," the statement added. "The names of the Sailors will be released after all notifications are made."