A US Navy sailor lost his life following a fall aboard the aircraft carrier ‘USS Nimitz’, while the ship was in port at the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, in the evening hours of Friday.
The 21-year-old Logistics Specialist Seaman, Juan José Garcia-Herrera, fell from one of the ship’s aircraft elevators in a “down position”, according to data provided by Navy spokespersons.
The sailor was transferred at the University of California San Diego Regional Trauma Center, but he died early Saturday morning.
“Early reports indicate the sailor was returning to the ship, lost his balance after crossing the brow and fell from a lowered aircraft elevator,” sources from USNI news mentioned.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service is currently investigating the cause of the accident.
Nimitz, homeported in Bremerton, is currently in Port of San Diego.
Garcia-Herrera from Chicago had enlisted in the service in January 2017 and had been serving aboard the carrier since 17 June 2019.
See also:
- Seafarer’s deadly fall attributed to lack of barrier systems
- UK MAIB: Bosun falls to death after crossing rope barrier
