The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transits the Indian Ocean in this U.S. Navy handout photo dated January 18, 2012.
REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Eric S. Powell/Handout
A fire broke out aboard the US Navy aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday.
Nine sailors had “minor” injures, a Navy official told Insider, with six suffering from dehydration.
It’s the latest incident to plague the Lincoln, which reported polluted drinking water last month.
Nine US Navy sailors suffered injuries after a fire broke out aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln while it was operating off the coast of California, the Navy said Wednesday.
The fire started Tuesday morning while the carrier was 30 miles off shore, but it was “quickly identified and extinguished” by the crew, according to a Navy statement. It said the cause of the fire is currently being investigated and that the ship will continue its routine operations in the area.
Lt. Samuel R. Boyle, a 3rd Fleet spokesperson, declined to elaborate on the specific location on the ship where the fire broke out, citing “operational security” concerns. He said the ship has no plans to pull back to port because of the fire.
Boyle said none of the injured sailors were evacuated from the ship. All were treated onboard. Six of the injured sailors were dehydrated, he said, noting that it was not immediately clear what happened to the remaining three.
The injuries suffered by the sailors were classified as “minor injuries” in the Navy statement.
Tuesday’s fire follows another incident aboard the Lincoln in September. The Navy acknowledged in an October statement that it found E. coli bacteria in the ship’s potable water system, which contains the water sailors use for drinking, cooking, and bathing, after sailors noticed it had an unusual odor and an unnatural cloudy appearance.
Later that same month, the Navy revealed in a statement that following further investigation into the matter, the sea service had determined that the ship’s water supply had been contaminated with bilge water, which is wastewater that collects in the bottom of a ship. Videos from the ship obtained by Insider showed gray and murky water coming from fountains and sinks — which one sailor described as “horrible.”