Firefighters battle blaze on US warship Bonhomme Richard for 2 days
USS Bonhomme Richard on fire
An explosion on a United States Navy ship moored at a base in California set off a major fire on Sunday, the fire continued to rage for at least 2 days.
The USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault vessel, was in port in San Diego for maintenance when the explosion erupted.
USS Bonhomme Richard up in smoke
Thick smoke could be seen billowing from large sections of the ship, as scenes broadcast on television showed fireboats using water cannon to try to control the blaze.
The official Twitter account of Naval Surface Forces, US Pacific Fleet, said 17 sailors and four civilians were taken to the hospital for minor injuries. Several firefighters reportedly also suffered burns and smoke inhalation.
Fire could go on 'for days'
Colin Stowell, head of the San Diego fire department said that the fire could go on "for days" and "just burn down to the waterline."
160 sailors on board
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.
About 160 sailors were on board at the time. San Diego is the ship's home port.
Flames spread upward throughout
Since then, flames have spread upward throughout much of the ship and into the tower and other structures on the top of the vessel, Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck told a late-morning news conference.
Because it was undergoing repairs at the time, only about 160 of the ship's usual contingent of 1,000 crew members were aboard at the time, and all major munitions had already been removed from the vessel as a standard safety practice, Navy officials said.
Helicopters drop water
Helicopters dropped water over the ship throughout Monday while fire boats on the perimeter streamed water on the hull to cool it from the outside. San Diego fire crews discontinued blasting water into the ship from shore, apparently out of concern for destabilizing the vessel's buoyancy.
Asked whether the ship might be burned beyond repair, Sobeck said he was "hopeful" it could be spared. "Once we get the fire out, which is our priority, then we'll make that assessment."
Bonhomme Richard, commissioned in 1998
The Bonhomme Richard, commissioned in 1998, is designed to carry U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopters and ground troops into battle.
FIrefighters battle for second day
Hundreds of firefighters battled through a second day from the air, land and water on Monday to save a US war vessel swept by flames while moored at a San Diego shipyard, as the number of sailors and civilians injured in the blaze rose to nearly 60.
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