A nighttime collision with a container ship off the coast of Japan killed seven U.S. sailors on the USS Fitzgerald and heavily damaged the Navy destroyer.
Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, the commander of the Navy’s 7th Fleet, told reporters at the fleet’s base in Yokosuka, Japan, that “our deepest sympathies are with the families of these sailors.”
The cause of the early Saturday morning collision with the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal is under investigation.
The Fitzgerald’s captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was airlifted off the ship with a head injury, as were two other crew members with minor injuries.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.