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Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
January 3, 2008 By Louis Hansen, The Virginian-Pilot
The Navy does not suspect foul play in the New Year's Day deaths of two Virginia Beach-based sailors aboard the Fort McHenry during a liberty call in Ghana.
The sailors from the crew of the amphibious ship were found dead in their hotel room. Their names will be made public after their relatives are notified, said Lt. Patrick Foughty, spokesman for the 6th Fleet in Naples, Italy.
The bodies will be flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Facility in Germany for toxicology tests, Foughty said.
Ghanaian police are leading the investigation of the deaths with assistance from Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, he said.
"There's no immediate evidence" of foul play, Foughty said in a telephone interview. He added that the Navy would not speculate on the cause of death until autopsies are performed.
CNN reported Wednesday that a Navy official, who spoke anonymously, said the sailors, a petty officer first class and petty officer third class, might have died of alcohol poisoning.
An unidentified naval official told The Associated Press that the two were among a trio of sailors who checked in at La Palm Beach Hotel in the capital of Accra on Dec. 31, "and on the next day, the third sailor found the two dead in their rooms and duly reported this to the hotel authorities."
The official said there was no evidence of a robbery or an attack on the sailors.
The Fort McHenry, an amphibious dock landing ship with a crew of 350 sailors, left Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in October for a seven-month deployment to the Gulf of Guinea.
Foughty said the ship had made several port calls as part of a mission to train naval personnel in West African countries along the gulf. The visit to the port city of Tema was the second liberty in Ghana for the McHenry crew, following a Christmas visit to Takoradi.
Foughty said guidelines for liberty are set by commanding officers familiar with the ports. Sailors are briefed on safety and appropriate actions, he said. Navy investigators typically visit ports ahead of the crew to determine security risks, he said.
The mission to the Gulf of Guinea is a new Navy responsibility aimed at bolstering security off the West African coast.
The seas there are a hotbed of piracy, unregulated fishing, oil theft, and drug and human smuggling, according to a Navy briefing.
The Fort McHenry is the first of two local ships to travel to the region under the program. The high-speed vessel Swift, also based at Little Creek, is scheduled to depart for the region on Friday.
January 3, 2008 By Louis Hansen, The Virginian-Pilot
The Navy does not suspect foul play in the New Year's Day deaths of two Virginia Beach-based sailors aboard the Fort McHenry during a liberty call in Ghana.
The sailors from the crew of the amphibious ship were found dead in their hotel room. Their names will be made public after their relatives are notified, said Lt. Patrick Foughty, spokesman for the 6th Fleet in Naples, Italy.
The bodies will be flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Facility in Germany for toxicology tests, Foughty said.
Ghanaian police are leading the investigation of the deaths with assistance from Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, he said.
"There's no immediate evidence" of foul play, Foughty said in a telephone interview. He added that the Navy would not speculate on the cause of death until autopsies are performed.
CNN reported Wednesday that a Navy official, who spoke anonymously, said the sailors, a petty officer first class and petty officer third class, might have died of alcohol poisoning.
An unidentified naval official told The Associated Press that the two were among a trio of sailors who checked in at La Palm Beach Hotel in the capital of Accra on Dec. 31, "and on the next day, the third sailor found the two dead in their rooms and duly reported this to the hotel authorities."
The official said there was no evidence of a robbery or an attack on the sailors.
The Fort McHenry, an amphibious dock landing ship with a crew of 350 sailors, left Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in October for a seven-month deployment to the Gulf of Guinea.
Foughty said the ship had made several port calls as part of a mission to train naval personnel in West African countries along the gulf. The visit to the port city of Tema was the second liberty in Ghana for the McHenry crew, following a Christmas visit to Takoradi.
Foughty said guidelines for liberty are set by commanding officers familiar with the ports. Sailors are briefed on safety and appropriate actions, he said. Navy investigators typically visit ports ahead of the crew to determine security risks, he said.
The mission to the Gulf of Guinea is a new Navy responsibility aimed at bolstering security off the West African coast.
The seas there are a hotbed of piracy, unregulated fishing, oil theft, and drug and human smuggling, according to a Navy briefing.
The Fort McHenry is the first of two local ships to travel to the region under the program. The high-speed vessel Swift, also based at Little Creek, is scheduled to depart for the region on Friday.