Top US Navy commander in Japan over destroyer crash
Admiral John Richardson arrived at the US naval base in Yokosuka on the outskirts of Tokyo to meet with bereaved families and officers who served on the USS Fitzgerald, said Commander Ron Flanders, press officer at the US Naval Forces in Japan.
The US Navy's top commander visited Japan today to meet with the grieving families of seven sailors killed in a weekend accident, as investigators continue their probe into the cause of the collision with a container ship.
Admiral John Richardson arrived at the US naval base in Yokosuka on the outskirts of Tokyo to meet with bereaved families and officers who served on the USS Fitzgerald, said Commander Ron Flanders, press officer at the US Naval Forces in Japan.
"It's an intimate meeting, very solemn grieving with families so we're not even taking photos," he told AFP.
The navy destroyer was badly damaged in the collision with a Philippine-flagged cargo ship off the Japanese coast early Saturday.
The bodies of the US sailors were found in flooded sleeping berths a day after the accident which tore a huge gash in the side of the warship.
Japanese investigators have been interviewing the Filipino crew of the Japanese-operated ACX Crystal, and hope to directly hear accounts of crew members of the Aegis- equipped USS Fitzgerald.
The United States has primary jurisdiction in investigating accidents involving its military.
"Our probe is still under way, and we are discussing" with the US authorities over interviews with American sailors, a Japanese coastguard official told
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)