YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) - Navy divers found a number of sailors' bodies Sunday aboard the stricken USS Fitzgerald that collided with a container ship in the busy sea off Japan, but a spokeswoman said not all seven missing had been accounted for.
The 7th Fleet and a defense representative, who spoke at the briefing, said the sailors' families would be given the support they need at this tragic time.
The names of the missing sailors are being withheld pending notification of their families.
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The destroyer suffered severe damage to its starboard side, while the container ship sustained light damage.
ACX Crystal was heading east, not far from its Tokyo Bay destination, when it turned around and traveled in a circle, according to public data from the ship's automatic tracking system posted on Marinetraffic.com.
"This loss is something we all feel", Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of the United States 7th Fleet, told reporters alongside the ship at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan Sunday.
At around 29,000 tons displacement, the ship dwarfs the 8,315-ton USA warship, and was carrying 1,080 containers from the port of Nagoya to Tokyo. It normally carries a crew of about 330 sailors and is homeported in Yokosuka.
The collision tore a gash down the middle of the navy ship, and three compartments flooded.
The Fitzgerald is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer commissioned in 1995. The details of the investigation launched by the Navy have not been disclosed.
It is not clear what caused the collision but the coastguard has said the area had been particularly busy with sea traffic at the time.
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"This has been a hard day", Aucoin said, adding that the search for missing shipmates would continue now that the vessel was back in Yokosuka.
The Navy says the ship was damaged above and below the water line.
The Philippine ship is 29,060 tons and is 222.6 meters (730 feet) long, the coast guard said.
"Once an investigation is complete then any legal issues can be addressed", the USA navy's Seventh Fleet spokesman said.
The Navy said that the Fitzgerald collided with a merchant ship 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, a city south of Tokyo that is home to a major U.S. Naval base.
Before Sunday's announcement, US President Donald Trump tweeted: "Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families".
Despite efforts to ease the intake of water, the statement said it was "uncertain how long it will take to gain access to the spaces once the ship is pier side in Yokosuka".
The sailors went missing after the Saturday morning collision.
"The USS Fitzgerald is under her own power, although her propulsion is limited".
"We will fully cooperate with authorities investigating the case".
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