*EPF402 10/12/00
Defense Department Report, Thursday, October 12
(Cole explosion) (250)

NAVY INVESTIGATES RAMMING, EXPLOSION OF U.S. DESTROYER IN YEMEN

The U.S. Navy is investigating the cause of an October 12 explosion that tore a hole in the side of the USS Cole when it apparently was rammed by an unidentified rubber boat while the American destroyer was in Aden, Yemen for a refueling stop.

CNN reported that four U.S. sailors were killed in the incident that occurred around noon in the Arabian/Persian Gulf. The BBC quoted U.S. officials who described it as a suicide attack, but as yet no terrorist groups have claimed responsibility.

The U.S. Navy Information Office in Washington reported that the explosion caused a large hole on the left side of the Arleigh Burke-class DDG 67 guided-missile destroyer. An early Navy press release said: "Damage control efforts are underway to manage flooding in the ship's engineering spaces."

Navy officials said as many as 30 sailors may have been injured, "some severely." The Navy is in the process of contacting family members of those who were killed or injured.

The U.S. ship is part of the USS George Washington Battle Group and was in transit from the Red Sea to a port visit in Bahrain -- home of the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters -- when it made a stop in Aden for routine refueling.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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