A massive blaze aboard a billion-dollar US Navy warship has been extinguished after raging for four days.
Navy officials said the fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship undergoing maintenance and upgrades at a port in San Diego, was put out last Thursday.
The Navy’s top officer, Adm. Mike Gilday, there would be a thorough investigation of the fire’s cause.
“We will fully investigate what happened here so that we learn all that we can from this terrible tragedy,” said Gilday, the chief of naval operations.
According to the reports, the fire reached temperatures up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit (about 650 degrees Celsius), it melted aluminum and incinerated wiring, plastics and combustibles like drywall, bedding and office supplies, while filling the 850-foot (260-meter) vessel with thick smoke.
