U.S. nuclear sub collides with Japanese training ship

Nine people went missing and 12 others were injured after a collision between a U.S. nuclear submarine and a Japanese vocational high school training vessel off Hawaii Saturday morning (Korean Standard Time).

The 499 ton-class Ehimemaru ship, used to train students of Japan`s Uwajima fishery senior high school, collided with the 6,080-ton U.S. nuclear submarine Greenville when the American vessel surfaced suddenly in seas 18km south of Oahu. The training ship sank to a depth of 550 meters.

Out of the 35 senior high school apprentices and sailors on the training ship, 26 were rescued while the remaining nine, including four trainees, were listed as missing. Twelve of those rescued were either severely or slightly injured.

The submarine, which was on a training mission, reportedly surfaced without confirming whether there were any ships in the area. Immediately after the accident, the United States expressed regret and promised to conduct a thorough investigation.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Kono Yohei to apologize and deliver a message of regret and condolence from U.S. President George Bush.

Search operations by a U.S. coast guard vessel along with U.S. Navy ships and airplanes were reportedly facing difficulties due to poor weather conditions.

The mishap was the second involving a U.S. nuclear submarine and a Japanese ship. In 1981, two people were killed when a Japanese freighter and the U.S. nuclear submarine George Washington collided near Kagoshima, Japan.