Three Navy sailors and a civilian shipyard worker are hospitalized for burn injuries. The Navy says the victims were injured aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz this morning. KPBS Radio’s Andrew Phelps has details.
Two of the victims were taken by Life Flight to UCSD Medical Center in La Jolla. Navy Commander Jack Hanzlik says the men were hurt by an electrical shock on board the aircraft carrier.
Hanzlik: They were testing a switchboard at the time to conduct some routine maintenance and an explosion occurred with the electrical test equipment and that caused the fire that was enough to cause the burn injuries.
Hanzlik says the injuries are not life-threatening, but he does not know the condition of the victims. A hospital spokesperson would not comment. The Navy is investigating the episode. Hanzlik says there is no record of recent injuries onboard the Nimitz. The aircraft carrier is docked at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego Bay. Normal operations are continuing aboard the vessel. For KPBS, I’m Andrew Phelps.
