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Criminal inquiry possible
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THE US Navy could decide to open a criminal inquiry into actions by the captain and crew of a US attack submarine that hit and sank a Japanese fishing ship near Hawaii, US Navy officials said on Wednesday.
“That's always a possibility in any such investigation —especially if death is involved," one of the officials, who asked not to be identified, told reporters. “But no decision has been made on which way this will go."
The officials were speaking in response to questions about Friday's major international incident in which the Los Angeles class nuclear submarine Greeneville smashed into the Japanese fishing boat Ehime Maru as the sub surfaced near Hawaii.
A US Navy official on Wednesday acknowledged the possibility that 16 civilians aboard the Greeneville — including two who were at control room positions when the sub rose rapidly to the surface — could have distracted the crew.
“I'm sure that will be looked into. But we don't have any evidence of that whatsoever," the official said.
Nine people were missing from the Ehime Maru, which sank in about 548 metres of water 14km off Diamond Head, Hawaii. Hopes for a rescue were fading although a search was continuing.(SD-Agencies)
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