The Latest: US Navy chief promises full probe of collision

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Navy ship collision off the Japanese coast (all times local):

9:15 a.m.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley says the Navy is deeply saddened and promised a full investigation into a collision between a destroyer and a container ship off Japan that killed seven sailors.

He said in a statement that "we are all deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our fellow shipmates."

He also praised their colleagues for saving the USS Fitzgerald from further damage and bringing it back to port. The incident happened early Saturday morning as many of the crew slept.

Stackley promised to "fully investigate" the cause of the collision.

8:45 a.m.

The U.S. Navy has identified the seven sailors who died in a collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship off Japan on Saturday.

They are:

— Gunner's Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia

— Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego, California

— Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Connecticut

— Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas

— Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlosvictor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, California

— Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Maryland

— Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio

3:15 a.m.

The mother of a U.S. Navy sailor who survived a direct hit to his sleeping berth during a collision at sea says her son kept diving back down to try to save his shipmates until the flooded berth began running out of air pockets.

Mia Sykes of Raleigh, North Carolina, told The Associated Press on Sunday that her 19-year-old son Brayden Harden was knocked out of his bunk by the impact, and water immediately began filling the berth.

Sykes says her son told her that the men sleeping on bunks above and below him were among those who died.

Sykes says her son told her that sailors initially believed they were under attack and some immediately went to man the guns.

Harden is from Herrin, Illinois, and recently was redeployed.

11:10 p.m.

The search for the seven U.S. Navy sailors who went missing after their destroyer collided with a container ship off the Japanese coast has ended after bodies were found in the destroyer.

Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, the commander of the Navy's 7th Fleet, told reporters that "a number of" bodies were recovered Sunday, a day after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship four times its size. He wouldn't say how many, pending notification of next of kin.

Aucoin said that much of the crew of about 300 was asleep when the collision happened at 2:20 a.m. Saturday, and that one machinery room and two berthing areas for 116 crew members were severely damaged. He said the destroyer was hit on the side and there was a significant impact.

A Navy spokesman said the victims might have been killed by the impact of the collision or drowned in the flooding.

7:05 p.m.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent a sympathy message to President Donald Trump over the fatal collision involving a U.S. Navy destroyer.

Seven U.S. sailors went missing after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship early Saturday off Japan's coast. Several of their bodies were found inside the ship's flooded compartment Sunday.

Abe said in his message to Trump on Sunday, "We are struck by deep sorrow," expressing condolences and sympathy "straight from my heart" to the victims and the injured.

Abe wrote, "I express my heartfelt solidarity to America at this difficult time," praising U.S. servicemen in Japan under the allies' bilateral security pact.

2:50 p.m.

The commander of the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet says that search and rescue efforts are over for the seven sailors missing after a destroyer collided with a merchant ship in waters off Japan.

Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin told reporters at a Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan, that a number of bodies have been recovered. He wouldn't say how many, pending notification of next of kin.

The USS Fitzgerald sustained significant damage after a collision with a Philippine-flagged merchant ship on Saturday around 2:20 a.m.

The bodies were found in flooded compartments Sunday after it returned to the base in Yokosuka with the help of tug boats.

11:15 a.m.

The U.S. Navy says the bodies of sailors who went missing in the collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship have been found aboard the stricken destroyer.

The Navy says in a statement that searchers had gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision. A total of seven sailors had been missing since Saturday's crash off Japan's coast.

The Navy says the remains are being transferred to Naval Hospital Yokosuka where they will be identified.

It says the families are being notified and being provided the support they need during "this difficult time." The names of the sailors will be released after all notifications are made.

7:30 a.m.

The U.S. Navy says the search is continuing for seven missing American sailors in the sea off Japan, after a collision between a Navy destroyer and a huge cargo ship.

The Navy says it remains uncertain how long it will take to gain access to the spaces inside the damaged destroyer in order to methodically search for the missing crew members.

Aircraft and vessels have been looking for the missing personnel since the two ships crashed in the pre-dawn hours Saturday.

The USS Fitzgerald is back at its home port in Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo, with extensive damage to its hull.

The Navy says the ship was damaged above and below the water line.

In a tweet Sunday, the Navy says the search for the missing sailors is continuing.

Investigators now face trying to determine how a sophisticated U.S. warship collided with a container ship four times its size.