According to the US Navy, a United States nuclear submarine collided with an unknown object underwater in the Indo-Pacific. In the incident last Saturday, there were no life-threatening injuries on board, the American Pacific fleet announced on Thursday (local time) in a brief statement. In media reports, citing the Navy, it was said that two seamen had been moderately injured and about nine others had suffered bruises and cuts.
The nuclear drive of the "USS Connecticut" was not impaired and is still fully functional, said the Navy.
“The submarine is still in a safe and stable condition.” The extent of the damage to the rest of the Seawolf-class hunting submarine is now being determined.
The incident is also being investigated.
The Navy did not provide any information on the exact location of the collision.
According to American media, the incident is said to have occurred in the South China Sea.
The cause of the collision could therefore have been a sunken ship or a container.
The boat should now be inspected at the American naval base in Guam.
The incident attracted attention given the current tension between the United States and China.
Just a few days ago, Washington had expressed "very worried" about Beijing's recent military actions against Taiwan.
The intrusion of Chinese military aircraft into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is "destabilizing, risks miscalculations and undermines peace and stability in the region," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price last weekend.