An accidental missile blast from a U.S. aircraft carrier set a Turkish destroyer ablaze during a NATO exercise, killing at least five Turkish sailors and injuring 14 others, the Pentagon said Friday.
Among those killed was the commanding officer of the Muavenet, Capt. Kudret Gungor, the Turkish general staff, said.The aircraft carrier USS Saratoga launched two Sea Sparrow missiles late Thursday. At least one of the missiles struck the destroyer, said Adm. Mike Boorda, commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, in a statement issued in London.
There was no information about how the firing occurred and no report of U.S. casualties, said the Pentagon and the U.S. naval command in Europe.
At the Pentagon, Adm. Frank Kelso, the chief of naval operations, said there was "no scheduled firing of missiles" planned during the exercise.
The four-star admiral said he'd never encountered such an accident during his 37 years of naval service and that the loss of life "deeply saddened" him. "I'd have to classify it as an accident. We have to determine what caused it," Kelso told CNN.
Gen. Carl Mundy, the commandant of the Marine Corps, told the AP that a three-admiral board had been convened to investigate the incident. "We have to find out what happened, and we will," he said.
Boorda said the accident occurred in the Aegean Sea, about 80 miles west of Izmir, Turkey, during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercise "Display Determination '92."
Turkish authorities first reported nine killed but later revised the figure to five, a spokesman at the U.S. Navy Headquarters in Europe said Friday.
The spokesman, Cmdr. Charles Connor, also said in an interview with Independent Television News that the accident was "quite unusual. It's quite baffling to us. It could have been any number of things - mechanical, human error," he said.
Acting Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger called the Turkish ambassador to the United States to express "apologies and agony over this tragic incident" and convey sympathy for victims and families, Connor said.
Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Katherine Ingram said one missile hit the Muavenet's bridge about midnight local time (4 p.m. MDT).
A resulting fire was extinguished in 15 minutes, she said, adding that the ships were about three miles apart.
Crewmen from the Saratoga were dropped onto the stricken ship by helicopter to help.