Firefighting teams are still battling the fire which broke out on amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard on Sunday morning in San Diego.
Nearly 24 hours after the outbreak, the fire seems to have spread throughout the ship while the navy started aerial firefighting operations via helicopter water bucket with two helicopters from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron THREE.
According to the navy, 57 personnel, 34 US Navy sailors and 23 civilians, have been treated for minor injuries including heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. There are 5 sailors admitted to local hospitals for observation. All are in stable condition.
The origin of the fire is still unknown and is pending investigation. According to first findings, the fire started in the ship’s “deep V” cargo hold and spread to spaces above.
As we previously reported, the fire broke out while the ship was undergoing routine maintenance. The US Navy said earlier that it had shifted the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and USS Russell (DDG 59) to a pier further away from the fire.
