US Navy and Marine Corps divers recovered the remains of the second USS John S McCain sailor who was missing after the guided-missile destroyer collided with a merchant vessel early Monday morning.

The US Seventh Fleet said the body was found on Thursday night and identified as 26-year-old electronics technician 3rd Class, Dustin Louis Doyon from Connecticut.

“More divers and equipment arrived overnight to continue the search and recovery operations for eight missing sailors inside flooded compartments of the ship,” it said in the latest update on its website today.

Earlier Thursday, divers recovered the remains of 22-year-old electronics technician 3rd Class, Kenneth Aaron Smith from New Jersey.

The US Navy said the incident was under investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the collision.

It had on Thursday announced the suspension of the search and rescue (SAR) efforts for the missing sailors in an approximately 2,100 sq mile area east of the Straits of Melaka and Singapore.

However, the US Navy and Marine Corps divers continued the SAR operation inside flooded compartments in the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer for the missing sailors.

- Bernama