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Aug. 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy on Thursday identified nine sailors who went missing this week when the USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant ship near Singapore -- personnel who are now presumed dead. The search became a recovery operation for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, whose forces are searching flooded compartments of the destroyer for the remaining sailors.
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The Navy also confirmed Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, of New Jersey, died in the incident.
The nine missing include: Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, of Missouri; Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, of Texas; Electronics Technicians 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, of Maryland, and Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, of Ohio; Information Systems Technicians 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, of Maryland, and Corey George Ingram, 28, of New York; Electronics Technicians 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, of Connecticut, and John Henry Hoagland III, 20, of Texas; and Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, of Illinois.
Four U.S. sailors injured when the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer collided with a Liberian-flagged merchant ship Monday have returned to service after receiving hospital treatment, officials said.
Tuesday, when U.S. Pacific Command announced the discovery of remains of some of the missing sailors Tuesday, it added that the Malaysian navy had also found "potential" remains.
Thursday, though, the Navy said those remains were not from the USS John S. McCain collision. Officials said medical testing ruled out any relationship.
The search-and-rescue effort -- with support from Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore -- stretched over roughly 2,100 square miles.
Wednesday, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was relieved of his command at the helm of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet following the incident -- and another collision in June, which killed seven sailors.
