SINGAPORE: Divers have found the remains of some of the 10 sailors who went missing when a US destroyer collided with a tanker off Singapore, the navy said on Tuesday, the latest deadly accident involving an American warship.

The US Navy has announced a fleet-wide global investigation after the incident on Monday involving the USS John S. McCain and the merchant vessel, which left a gaping gash in the destroyer’s hull.

But Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, praised the surviving crew for saving the ship and saving lives, in the second collision involving an American warship in two months.

The accident — which also left five sailors injured — happened before dawn in busy shipping lanes around the Strait of Singapore, and sent water flooding into the ship.

A massive search involving planes and aircraft was launched and US Navy divers joined the hunt on Tuesday, scouring the ship’s flooded compartments.

Speaking in Singapore, Swift said “the divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search today”, without saying how many bodies were found.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2017