USS John S McCain Search Suspended

The US Navy has suspended a search for missing sailors in waters near Singapore and Malaysia.

However, they say that they will continue recovery efforts inside flooded compartments of the warship John S. McCain.

The news follows an incident in which a US Navy guided-missile destroyer collided with a tanker in waters east of Singapore.

The Navy announced in the wake of the collision that five were injured and at least ten missing.

Four of the injured sailors were evacuated by a Singaporean navy helicopter to a hospital in Singapore for treatment for non-life threatening injuries, and one did not require further medical attention.

The ship sustained significant damage to its hull on its port side from the collision with the Alnic MC.

The McCain had been heading to Singapore for a routine port visit after conducting a sensitive freedom-of-navigation operation last week.

Navy Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, has instigated a pause in operations in order to seek a deeper look at how the Navy trains and certifies its, said Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

This is one of the several collisions in recent months; seven sailors died in June when the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship hit each other in waters off Japan