US Navy Ship Destroyer Collides With Gigantic Philippines Transport Vessel Off Japan

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald. damaged by colliding with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel. is seen off Shimoda, Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo on June 17, 2017. Kyodo/via REUTERS

Seven U.S. sailors are missing after a U.S. Navy destroyer collided with container ship in Japan early Friday morning.

Details of the collision are sparse. The Fitzgerald and the Philippine-flagged container ship collided in eastern Japan at about 2:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, June 17.

Three of the destroyer’s crew, including commanding officer Bryce Benson, were medically evacuated to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka. Seven other sailors remain missing. Search and rescue efforts are underway by U.S. and Japanese aircraft and surface vessels, the Navy said.

Names of the missing sailors are being withheld until the families have been notified.

The commander is in stable condition, while the other two were treated for lacerations and bruises, said the Navy.

An injured crew member of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, damaged after colliding with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel, is carried on a stretcher after arriving at the U. S. naval base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan on June 17, 2017. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force/Handout via REUTERS