MANILA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. Navy minesweeper has run aground on a reef in Sulu Sea, western Philippines, a local military official said Thursday
Oliver Banaria, commander of the Armed Forces' 6th Civil Relations Group in Palawan, said he received official report that the ship ran aground on Tubbataha Reef, early Thursday, about 98 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa city.
No one was reported injured, but Banaria said that they have sent patrol craft to check on the incident and see how local officials can help the crew.
Banaria said that similar incidents had happened in the past and it's possible that misnavigation may have led to the grounding.
A separate statement issued by the U.S. Navy confirmed that no one was hurt when the USS Guardian (MCM 5) ran aground on Tubbataha Reef at 2:25 a.m. local time.
The ship had just completed a port call in Subic Bay and was en route to its next port of call when the grounding occurred. The crew is working on how to safely extract the ship.
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