Thirty-four service members have returned to duty and one sailor is in
stable condition as of Friday, May 3, following a collision between two landing craft off the coast of Florida last week, according
to the Navy.
Thirty-five sailors and Marines assigned to the Wasp Amphibious Ready
Group and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit were injured when two of the Navy’s
Landing Craft Air Cushion vessels, or LCACs, collided during a training
exercise near Jacksonville Wednesday.
The Navy did not say what caused the collision,
which remains under investigation..
“As the incident unfolded and aid was rendered, additional personnel
received medical care, increasing the total number injured to 35 personnel,”
the Navy said Friday 3 May in a news release.
Five sailors were medically evacuated for further care at Savannah
Memorial University Medical Center, with four of them being released from the
hospital after treatment, the Navy said Thursday.
One sailor was in stable condition and transported to Naval Medical
Center Portsmouth May 3, according to Friday’s release. The medical center is
the closest military treatment facility to the sailor’s home station of
Norfolk, Virginia, the Navy said.
The LCACs, which transport troops and material from ship to shore, were
from the amphibious assault ship Wasp and the amphibious transport dock New
York.
A third LCAC rendered immediate assistance and transported all 38
sailors and Marines to the Wasp and New York, where troops with minor injuries
were treated, the Navy said.