SINGAPORE: Ten US Navy sailors are missing and five have been injured after a US destroyer and an oil tanker collided near Singapore, the Navy says.
The guided missile destroyer USS John S McCain was sailing east of Singapore and preparing to stop in the port when the collision with the Liberian-flagged vessel occurred.
A wide-ranging search and rescue operation is under way. It is the second collision involving a US Navy ship in recent months.
It was reported before dawn at 05:24 local time on Monday (21:24 GMT on Sunday) and took place east of the Strait of Singapore, as the USS John S McCain prepared to perform a routine port stop in Singapore.
Singapore and US authorities said the destroyer sustained damage to her port side, which is the left-hand side of the vessel facing forward.
The tanker it collided with, Alnic MC, sustained damage to a tank near the front of the ship 7m (23ft) above the waterline, but none of its crew were injured and there were no oil spills.
The tanker has a tonnage of 30,000 which is about three times that of the USS John S McCain’s, and at 600ft (182m) it is slightly longer than the 505ft-long US destroyer.
US military helicopters as well as the Singaporean and Malaysian navies and coast guards are currently conducting search and rescue operations.
