SAN DIEGO — Eleven people suffered minor injuries in an explosion and fire Sunday on board a ship at Naval Base San Diego, military officials said.
The blaze was reported shortly before 9 a.m. on USS Bonhomme Richard, said Krishna Jackson, the base’s public information officer.
Eleven people were treated for “non-life threatening injuries,” Jackson said. She didn’t have additional details.
Previously Jackson said at least one person was treated for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. Jackson didn’t know where on the 840-foot amphibious assault vessel the blast and the fire occurred.
The flames sent up a huge plume of dark smoke visible around San Diego.
San Diego is the Bonhomme Richard’s home port and it was undergoing routine maintenance at the time of the fire.
Jackson estimated about 200 sailors and officers were on board – far fewer than if the ship was on active duty.
The ship has the capacity to deploy and land helicopters, smaller boats and amphibious vehicles.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less