Posted on: Sunday, January 9, 2005
Sailor dies aboard crippled sub
Advertiser Staff & News Services
A crewmember injured yesterday when the submarine USS San Francisco ran aground died today, the Pacific Fleet headquarters at Pearl Harbor said.
The Navy said 23 other crewmembers were injured in the incident that happened about 350 miles south of Guam while the submarine was conducting undersea operations. The San Francisco has a crew of 137.
The Navy said the injuries ranged from broken bones, and lacerations to bruises and a back injury.
Navy medical personnel from Guam, including a doctor, reached the Los Angeles-class submarine early today to treat the injured, the Navy public affairs office said last night on the Pacific Fleet Web site.
The Coast Guard cutter Galveston Island and Navy ship Stockham escorted the crippled nuclear submarine toward its homeport in Guam, the Navy said. The sub is expected to arrive this afternoon, Hawai'i time.
U.S. Pacific Fleet,
There were no reports of damage to the USS San Francisco's reactor plant, which was operating normally, the Navy said.
Jon Yoshishige, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet, said yesterday that there was no information yet on what the submarine struck.
The extent of the damage would not be known until the submarine arrived in Guam, Yoshishige said.
Early reports said the submarine's outer hull was breached by the impact of the grounding, but that the inner hull remained intact.
Staff Writer Karen Blakeman contributed to this report.
The sailor was not identified.
Military aircraft and another Navy ship, the Kiska, also are among the escorts, the Navy said.
Learn more:
