Fire breaks out on Japan navy ship, cause under investigation

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TOKYO (Reuters) -Fire broke out on a Japanese warship sailing near the western part of the country, causing one crew member to be hospitalised due to smoke inhalation, while another was missing, Japan’s navy said on Sunday.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) said the minesweeper Ukushima was sailing off the coast north of Fukuoka in the island of Kyushu when the fire occurred at around 9:40 a.m. local time (0040 GMT).

Admiral Akira Saito later said firefighting efforts were ongoing as of 8:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) after its crew members except for the missing one evacuated to another ship.

The fire broke out in Ukushima’s engine room and multiple explosive sounds had been heard, but the cause was being investigated, Saito, the JMSDF chief of staff, told a press conference.

The minesweeper was en route to southeastern Kyushu for mine warfare drills next week.

Ukushima may sink if the fire keeps burning, Saito said, adding JMSDF has never had its warships sunk due to fire.

“We’ll do our best to extinguish the fire and search for the missing crew member,” he said.

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland and Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Barbara Lewis)