Seven sailors missing feared dead after £1.1bn US Navy destroyer collides with 29,000 ton cargo ship at 2.30am off Japan - crushing sleeping quarters and leaving the crew 'fighting to keep her afloat'(photos)

Collision: Heavy damage is pictured on the US Navy missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald after it collided with a cargo ship near Japan early on Saturday morning

Rescuers are searching for seven US Sailors thought to be lost at sea or trapped inside a damaged Navy destroyer (pictured left) which collided with a 29,000 ton cargo ship 56 miles off the coast of Japan Saturday. The guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald suffered severe damage when the container ship ACX Crystal (bottom right) - which is four times the size of the naval vessel - plowed into it at 2.30am local time. Japanese coast guard spokesman Yoshihito Nakamura said the rescuers are searching for the seamen who were thought to have been thrown into the sea or possibly trapped inside damaged sections of the destroyer. Two crew berthings and one engineering main space have been flooded. Three aboard the destroyer were medically evacuated (inset), including the ship's commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson (top right), who was reportedly in stable condition after being airlifted to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, the Navy said.

The guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald suffered severe damage when the container ship plowed into it at 2.30am local time

Missing: A US defense official confirmed that there are seven sailors unaccounted and that the destroyer suffered flooding in three compartments