John Hetherington/U.S. NavyBy LUIS MARTINEZ, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — The Navy is searching the North Arabian Sea for a missing sailor from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
Man overboard was called after the sailor was not located during a search aboard the carrier, according to a Navy spokesperson.
“The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) are currently conducting search and rescue operations in the North Arabian Sea following reports of a missing U.S. Navy Sailor, Sept. 6,” according to a statement from the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
“The sailor was not located upon a search on board which resulted in a man overboard being called and the activation of the search and rescue,” Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a 5th Fleet spokesperson, told ABC News.
The search for the missing sailor has continued even as darkness has fallen in the region.
The sailor has been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) and the name of the sailor is being withheld in accordance with U.S. Navy policy.
The Nimitz began its deployment to the Pacific and the Middle East in late April, during the height of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Its crew of almost 5,000 sailors was quarantined aboard the ship in its homeport of Bremerton, Washington, for several weeks before it deployed to ensure that there were no active cases of the coronavirus aboard the ship.
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