10 US seamen missing after navy ship collides with merchant ship

Five sailors injured

Ten sailors were missing after a Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship east of the Singapore and Malacca Straits, authorities said Sunday.
Five sailors were injured in the collision between the USS John S. McCain and the merchant vessel Alnic MC, a 30,000-ton chemical and oil tanker sailing under the Libyan flag, the Navy said in a statement.
Four of the injured sailors were evacuated by a Singaporean Navy helicopter to a hospital in the island city-state with non-life threatening injuries. The fifth injured sailor did not require immediate medical attention, the Navy said.
A Navy spokesman told NBC News the incident was being treated as an accident.
There were no reports of oil pollution following the incident, Singapore’s government said in a statement.
The guided missile destroyer is named for the Arizona’s senator’s father and grandfather, both of whom were admirals.
The collision was reported east of Singapore and the Straits of Malacca at 6:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time (5:24 p.m. ET), the Navy said in a statement. The collision occurred when the ship was en route to a routine port visit in Singapore.
The John S. McCain suffered damage to its port side, the statement said, and a search and rescue operation was underway.

source: nbcnews.com