Probe launched as divers search warship

SINGAPORE - The focus of the search for 10 US sailors missing after a collision between the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker in Southeast Asian waters shifted on Tuesday to the destroyer's flooded compartments.

The sea search by aircraft and ships from the US, Singaporean and Malaysian navies will continue east of Singapore where the McCain and the tanker collided at daybreak on Monday, the 7th Fleet said, but the deployment of divers to search inside the warship, now docked at Singapore's naval base, was a blow to families still hoping for a miracle.

"Equipped with surface supplied air rigs, divers will access sealed compartments located in damaged parts of the ship," the fleet said in a statement. "Additionally, they will conduct damage assessments of the hull and flooded areas."