Search Continues for 3 Men Missing in U.S. Sub Blast

The Navy searched today for three sailors missing in an explosion and fire that ripped the diesel-powered attack submarine Bonefish and forced the crew to flee. Twenty-three crew members were injured, three seriously.

The Navy has not had a fatal submarine accident in 20 years, since the nuclear-powered Scorpion sank in the Atlantic on May 21, 1968, with the loss of all 99 men aboard

The Bonefish with a crew of 92 was rocked by the blast at 4:30 p.m. EDT Sunday while conducting routine training operations with the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy and the guided-missile frigate Carr about 160 miles east of Cape Canaveral, Fla., Capt. Brent Baker, an Atlantic Fleet spokesman, said.

The explosion triggered a toxic fire that forced the crew to flee the ship for safety aboard the Carr. The explosion is believed to have occurred in the battery compartment, the Navy said.

The submarine, based in Charleston, S.C., was still afloat today, and no smoke could be seen coming from the vessel.

The 23 injured crewmen were airlifted to a naval hospital in Jacksonville, Fla. Three were taken from helicopters on stretchers while the remaining 20 were able to walk, Nick Young, spokesman for Jacksonville Naval Air Station, said.

The remaining 66 sailors were taken by the Carr to Mayport Naval Station, Fla., and were then flown to Charleston Air Force Base. They arrived shortly after noon under gray, overcast skies.

The Navy identified the three missing sailors as Lt. Ray Everts Jr., 30, of Naoma, W.Va.; Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Bordelon Jr., 39, of Willis, Tex., and Petty Officer 3rd Class Marshall Lindgren, 21, of Pisgah Forest, N.C.

The three seriously injured crew members were identified as Lt. (j.g.) Edmund Collins, 34, of Park Forest, Ill.; Petty Officer 1st Class Antone Silvia, 28, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Evans, 29, of Madison, Tenn.