Fire aboard US missile cruiser, no one hurt

A fire broke out aboard a US Navy guided missile destroyer as it was crossing the Atlantic, but no one was injured in the blaze, the Pentagon said today.
Flames erupted yesterday in one of the USS Hue City's gas turbine generators, and later spread to other decks of the ship, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.
"There were no injuries. The ship continues to operate under its own power. The damage is being assessed," Warren said, adding that the cause of the fire was under investigation.
Warren said the missile destroyer had left its home port of Mayport, Florida on Friday for a deployment in the "Sixth Fleet area of responsibility" -- which covers the western Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

The fire broke out when the ship was about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda. The ship -- which has about 330 personnel on board -- was sailing on its planned course, Warren said.