Missing US sailors: Second body found

US Navy and Marine Corps divers have found and identified the body of a second missing sailor of an American warship which collided with a tanker earlier in the week.

The US 7th Fleet said in Singapore yesterday afternoon that the divers found the body of Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Connecticut, on Thursday night.

The USS John S. McCain warship had collided with tanker Alnic MC in Singapore waters on Monday, leaving 10 sailors missing and five others injured.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Doyon's family said he "truly loved his family, the navy, and his shipmates", and that "we are incredibly proud of him and his service to our country".

Divers found the body of another missing sailor earlier on Thursday - Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, from New Jersey.

The US 7th Fleet said yesterday more divers and equipment arrived overnight to continue search-and-recovery operations for the remaining eight missing sailors inside flooded compartments of the warship.

Sailor Dustin Louis Doyon's family said they were proud of his service to the country.

The search-and-rescue efforts for the missing sailors were called off on Thursday, with the focus shifting to recovery operations within the guided-missile destroyer, the US 7th Fleet said earlier. This is after more than 80 hours of search missions in the areas east of the Malacca and Singapore straits.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency also said they decided to suspend their countries' search-and-rescue operations on Thursday night.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 26, 2017, with the headline Missing US sailors: Second body found. Subscribe