YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — The commander of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet says that search and rescue efforts are over for the seven sailors missing after a destroyer collided with a merchant ship in waters off Japan.
Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin told reporters at a Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan, that a number of bodies have been recovered. He wouldn’t say how many, pending notification of next of kin.
The USS Fitzgerald sustained significant damage after a collision with a Philippine-flagged merchant ship on Saturday around 2:20 a.m.
The bodies were found in flooded compartments Sunday after it returned to the base in Yokosuka with the help of tug boats.
