Fire breaks out on US vessel deployed in southwestern Japan

ISTANBUL

A fire broke out on a US Navy ship off the Okinawa islands of southwestern Japan on Wednesday, public broadcaster NHK reported.

NHK added that no injuries were reported in the incident, and vessels belonging to Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are working to put out the fire.

According to the Japan Coast Guard, the fire started at around 5.00 pm (0800GMT) on a US military vessel, the New Orleans, off the city of Uruma.

A coast guard official said smoke was rising from the bow of the vessel, but no request to evacuate the crew of the US vessel has been made so far.

Okinawa hosts 31 US-exclusive military facilities, accounting for over 70% of such sites in Japan in terms of land area. The island is home to roughly half of the 50,000 US troops deployed in the country under a security pact.