7 Navy Sailors Missing After U. S. Destroyer Collides With Merchant Vessel Off Japan -<br />By MOTOKO RICHJUNE 16, 2017<br />TOKYO — Seven Navy sailors were missing on Saturday after a United States destroyer<br />collided with a Philippine merchant vessel off the coast of Japan, the Navy said.<br />The Navy said two other sailors had been evacuated by helicopter and were being treated for lacerations and bruises<br />Japanese television showed extensive damage to the Fitzgerald, which the Navy<br />said had taken on water but was still capable of moving under its own power.<br />Masayuki Obara, an official with the Japanese Coast Guard, which was aiding the Fitzgerald and helping to search for its missing crew members, said<br />that a sailor on the destroyer had sustained a head injury and was unable to walk.<br />Bryce Benson, was evacuated from the ship by helicopter to a nearby United States naval base<br />and was in stable condition, the United States Seventh Fleet said in a statement.<br />The pattern of damage suggested that the Crystal — a much larger vessel, laden<br />with shipping containers — had collided nose-first with the Fitzgerald’s side.
