“Some remains” of 10 missing US sailors have been found after the collision between the US destroyer John S. McCain and an oil tanker near Singapore, US Navy Adm. Scott Swift said Tuesday.
Navy and Marine Corps divers found the remains in the sealed compartments aboard the McCain, said Swift, commander of the Pacific Fleet.
The Royal Malaysian Navy has located one body at sea, and officials are working to determine if it is one of the missing sailors, he said. Divers have also located others.
US military divers continue to search the flooded areas of the McCain. Ships and planes are scouring the seas east of Singapore. Divers will also assess the extent of damage to the warship, which is docked at a Singapore naval facility, according to the Navy.
“Until we have exhausted any potential of recovering survivors or bodies, the search and rescue efforts will continue,” Swift said.
The guided-missile destroyer and the merchant vessel collided Monday east of the Malacca Strait, the fourth time a US warship has been involved in an accident in Asian waters this year.
The collision prompted the Navy to order a rare, one-day operational pause.
“This trend demands more forceful action,” Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, said. Swift said the Pacific Fleet will complete the operational pause by next Monday.