South Korean Amphib Catches Fire, Injuring Three Crewmembers
[Brief] On Thursday, three crewmembers aboard a Republic of Korea Navy amphib were injured in a fire that broke out in a machinery space, the service reported.
At about 1549 hours on Thursday, the tank landing ship ROKS Hyang Ro Bong caught fire while transiting into a base in the Jinhae district, just west of Busan. The blaze was sparked by one of the vessel's auxiliary engines.
180 people were evacuated from the ship for safety when it reached the pier at 1810 hours, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. Dozens of first responders arrived to help with firefighting, along with fireboats and fire trucks. As of late Thursday, the firefighting efforts were still under way.
One of the vessel's crewmembers sustained first- and second-degree burns from the fire and was taken to a hospital for medical care. The other two victims complained of breathing difficulties, and are reportedly recovering.
ROKS Hyang Ro Bong is a 1,700 dwt tank landing craft commissioned in 1999.
Search Called Off for Missing Crewmember From USS George Washington
The U.S. Navy has called off a multiday search for a sailor who is believed to have gone overboard from the carrier USS George Washington, the service said in a statement Wednesday.
On Monday, while George Washington was operating in an exercise in the Timor Sea, a sailor was reported missing and potentially overboard. The carrier and her escorts - USS Robert Smalls and USS Shoup - began a concerted search effort, aided by the carrier's air wing. The Australian Border Force and Australian Defense Force also contributed to the search.
The effort was unsuccessful, and was called off on Wednesday afternoon. The lost sailor's name has not yet been released, pending notification to the family.
At the time of the incident, the George Washington CSG was participating in a large-scale joint exercise with Australian forces, Talisman Sabre 2025. The multilateral exercise included 43,000 personnel from 19 nations, and the Royal Navy carrier HMS Prince of Wales was among the participating vessels.
George Washington has a difficult history of crewmember fatalities. During a five-year yard period from 2017-22, nine sailors assigned to the ship died by suicide, including three in April 2022 alone. A command investigation found that the crew's quality of life during the yard period was austere and demanding, and that morale aboard was low; the report led to significant changes in how the Navy assigns enlisted servicemembers to yard periods and provides for their accommodations.
No comments:
Post a Comment