WORLD NEWS

Massive search for US sailors missing after USS Fitzgerald collides with cargo ship.

The USS Fitzgerald has been damaged in a collision with a container ship off Japan
By Sharon Marris, News Reporter
Seven US Navy sailors are still missing after their destroyer collided with a container ship near Japan.
Planes, boats and helicopters are carrying out a massive search in the seas off Japan's Pacific coast.
Nearly 24 hours after the collision, 7th Fleet Vice Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin said the search is continuing.
"It's been a tough day for our Navy family. It's hard to imagine what this crew has had to endure, the challenges they've had to overcome," said Aucoin.
All 20 crew members of the cargo vessel are said to be safe, with the ship only suffering minor damage.
A sailor is rescued from the USS Fitzgerald after the collision
US President Donald Trump has sent his prayers to the sailors.
"Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families. Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance," he said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
At least three compartments of the USS Fitzgerald are reported to have flooded after the collision with the Philippine vessel ACX Crystal 56 miles southwest of Yokosuka.
Commander Bryce Benson, Fitzgerald's commanding officer, was evacuated from the ship and taken to US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka where he is in a stable condition.
The US navy ship is towed into port
Two more sailors have also been taken by helicopter to hospital for what the US 7th Fleet said were "lacerations and bruises".
More than 200 sailors would have been asleep on the ship at the time of the collision.
The Fitzgerald has now sailed into the port of Yokosuka south of Tokyo.
Coast Guard official Takeshi Aikawa said no damage or injuries had been reported with regards to the 29,060-tonne container ship and its crew.
The cause of the collision is unknown
It is not clear what caused the collision between the destroyer and the container ship four times its size.
In a statement, the Navy said the USS Fitzgerald had "suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline" in the accident on Friday evening UK time.
Footage on Japanese broadcaster NHK showed extensive damage to the mid-right side of the Fitzgerald, which is an Arleigh Burke-class (Flight I) guided missile destroyer built in 1993.