NATION IN BRIEF : VIRGINIA : Fatal Fire on Ship Laid to Fuel Leak
A fuel leak in one of the Conyngham’s boiler rooms touched off the fatal fire that sent smoke and flames racing through the guided-missile destroyer, the ship’s skipper said. Cmdr. William R. Williams told reporters at a news conference at the Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia that he feared he might lose his ship and had small boats in the water in case it had to be abandoned. “But when I saw the determination of the faces of my men, all those thoughts left my mind,” he said. The fire Tuesday killed the operations officer and injured 18 sailors.
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