USS Fitzgerald collision: aerial footage released shows extent of damage [video]

Aerial footage has been released that shows the extent of the damage sustained by USS Fitzgerald. A Philippine container ship collided with the naval destroyer about 54 nautical miles away from Yokosuka, where Washington's most important naval facility in the Western Pacific is located, CGTN reported earlier today.

Japan's NHK World News obtained aerial footage that shows the superficial extent of the damage.

Watch the video below.

USS Fitzgerald damage footage from the NHK helicopter

The News outlet reported that the Philippine vessel reported the collision to the Japanese Coast Guard. The accident was close to the Izu Peninsular and happened at around 2:30 a.m Saturday (Japan times).

The video footage that is emerging shows the container vessel with damage up front on the bow. The near amidships starboard collision damage to the USS Fritzgerald is on the right side of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of Destroyer Squadron 15, based at Yokosuka.

Seven missing, others injured

CGTN Live reported that as many as seven US Navy sailors are reportedly unaccounted for following the collision with the container ship.

Reuters reported shortly after the news broke that the Navy was "still working to account for all personnel aboard USS Fitzgerald, cannot confirm any missing personnel." They later updated their report to say that "seven crew members are missing and at least three injured."

Apparently, three injured sailors have been airlifted to shore. The commander of the vessel, Bryce Benson was among the injured and he was flown to the U.S Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, the Navy said in a statement.

The Coast Guard said that when the collision occurred, several compartments inside the USS Fitzgerald were flooded.

Search and rescue operations for the missing personnel are underway and on Twitter, concern for the naval staff is growing.

Injuries on the container ship

There have been no reports of injuries of any of the crew on the Philippine container ship, which is named ACX Crystal. There were twenty crew on board the large vessel which has a displacement of 29,000 tons, making her about three times bigger than the USS Fitzgerald which suffered much worse damage.

While the area where the collision at sea occurred is a busy area for shipping, collision incidents are apparently rare. According to the New York Times, right now, the safety of the ship and the crew are paramount and the collision will be fully investigated later. “Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the sailors,” said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the United States Pacific Fleet.