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19:25, 22-Aug-2017
USS John McCain: Remains found in compartment during search for missing sailors
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The remains of missing US Navy sailors have been found in a compartment on board the guided missile destroyer USS John McCain, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet said on Tuesday, without specifying how many remains had been found.
"The divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search today," Admiral Scott Swift told reporters, referring to a search of the 10 missing sailors by US Navy and Marine Corps divers.
Admiral Scott Swift, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, speaks to reporters during a press conference, at Changi naval base in Singapore on August 22, 2017. /AFP Photo
Admiral Scott Swift, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, speaks to reporters during a press conference, at Changi naval base in Singapore on August 22, 2017. /AFP Photo
He said Malaysian authorities, involved in the three-nation air and sea search for the sailors, had also found a body and it was being transferred to the US Navy for identification.
The Malaysian navy said one of its ships had found a body eight nautical miles northwest of the accident site.
Swift added that a wider search would continue until all hope was exhausted.
He also praised the crew for saving lives.
The USS John McCain is seen with a hole on its port side after a collision with an oil tanker outside Changi naval base in Singapore on August 21, 2017. /AFP Photo
The USS John McCain is seen with a hole on its port side after a collision with an oil tanker outside Changi naval base in Singapore on August 21, 2017. /AFP Photo
The US Navy destroyer collided with an oil tanker early on Monday in waters off Singapore, with water flooding into the vessel after a huge hole was torn in the hull.
Five sailors were injured in the collision.
This is the second collision in two months involving an American warship, prompting the US Navy to open a probe into how it happened.