A search of the USS Fitzgerald has recovered the seven missing sailors from the flooded compartments of the Navy destroyer. The bodies were discovered in the area of the twisted metal on the vessel that was caused by the impact of a merchant cargo ship with the guided missile destroyer. The area of impact is easily seen in photos taken from the outside of the ship.

Sailors Deceased

There were seven sailors reported missing following the collision of the USS Fitzgerald, and while there was no official word on the number of remains found inside the ship from earlier reports, it is now confirmed the remains of all seven missing sailors have been found.

Earlier reports said the search for the missing sailors had been called off, suggesting the missing sailors are all accounted for, discovered in the wreckage of that impact point. Again, it has now been confirmed, reports Fox & Friends Weekend live on Sunday morning.

The USS Fitzgerald returned to its base in Japan after the ship was stabilized on the open seas. Sunday morning the bodies of the missing sailors were found during a search of the flooded compartments, according to the Navy's 7th Fleet.

The names of casualties will not be announced until all the families of the deceased have been notified. According to CNN News, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin spoke to reporters who waited alongside the ship.

"This loss is something we all feel," said Aucoin.

Water-filled compartments

He also confirmed that the search for the missing sailors had been called off. Aucoin added, "We have found a number of the remains...

of our missing shipmates, and our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those shipmates." The compartments filled up with water in no time at all upon collision. The gash in the ship hidden below the water's surface took in the ocean water at a fast pace, flooding the compartments below the waterline.

Hidden hole in ship below water surface

The admiral also conveyed how the loss of life from this collision could have been much worse. What the many pictures that were taken of the ship don't show is the huge gash in the ship that is hidden beneath the surface of the water. The water flowed into the ship through that gash in the hull with such tremendous pressure.

That collision destroyed the captain's private quarters and an area that berths 116 of the ship's crew. Many of the crew were asleep at the time the ships collided. Cmdr. Bryce Benson is lucky to be alive, said Aucoin, as his cabin was "completely destroyed." Benson is being treated for undisclosed injuries at a Navy hospital in Yokosuka after he was airlifted off the ship following the collision.

Captain hurt

The crew saved the USS Fitzgerald from sinking, reports Aucoin. It was their "heroic efforts" that kept the ship afloat. The investigation into how this collision between the two vessels happened out on the open water is on-going. The cargo ship sustained very little damage in comparison to the severe damage the USS Fitzgerald was left with in the aftermath.
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