TOKYO – The US Navy has ended a three-day search for a sailor who is believed to have gone overboard during operations in the South China Sea.
A statement on Friday said that US, Japanese, and Chinese Navy vessels and aircraft spent 79 hours combing roughly 25,900 square kilometers of the South China Sea west of the Philippines, demonstrating what it called “the common bond shared by all mariners to render assistance at sea.”
The sailor from the guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem, based in Yokosuka, Japan, was reported missing and assumed overboard August 1. His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, the Navy said.
Rear Admiral Charles Williams, the commander of Task Force 70, offered his prayers for the sailor’s loss and thanked all those who participated in the search, which included aircraft from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Ship JS Izumo, JS Sazanami, and two People’s Liberation Army Navy frigates, in addition to US assets. (AP)
