The Navy warship USS John S. McCain is docked at the Subic Bay free port to take part in a joint US-Philippines naval exercise 70 miles west of Manila on June 26, 2014. Trump on USS John S. McCain collision that left 10 missing: 'That's too bad'

President Donald Trump on Sunday called the collision between the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain and a tanker that left at least 10 sailors missing “too bad” before tweeting support for the sailor's families.

“That’s too bad,” the president said when asked about the incident, according to a pool report.


He later tweeted: "Thoughts & prayers are w/ our @USNavy sailors aboard the #USSJohnSMcCain where search & rescue efforts are underway," linking to an official Navy statement on the ongoing search efforts.

The Navy said in a news release that a Singapore navy helicopter medically evacuated four U.S. sailors to a hospital in Singapore for treatment of their injuries. A fifth injured sailor did not require medical attention.

The USS John S. McCain sustained damage on its port side aft, or left rear, from the collision with the Alnic MC, which happened at 5:24 a.m., the Navy's 7th Fleet said.

The ship is named for the father and grandfather of Sen. John McCain, both of whom were admirals in the Navy. The Arizona Republican on Sunday tweeted: "Cindy & I are keeping America's sailors aboard the USS John S McCain in our prayers tonight — appreciate the work of search & rescue crews."

It is the second collision involving a ship from the Navy's 7th Fleet in the Pacific in two months. Seven sailors died in June when the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship hit each other in waters off Japan.

The Fitzgerald's captain was relieved of command and other sailors were being punished after the Navy found poor seamanship and flaws in keeping watch contributed to the collision, the Navy announced last week. An investigation into how and why the Fitzgerald collided with the other ship was not finished, but enough details were known to take those actions, the Navy said.

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The Japan-based 7th Fleet said the McCain was heading to Singapore for a routine port visit.

The ship is based at the fleet's home port of Yokosuka, Japan. It was commissioned in 1994 and has a crew of 23 officers, 24 chief petty officers and 291 enlisted sailors, according to the Navy's website.

The Alnic MC is a 600-foot oil and chemical tanker.

The Malacca Strait is between Malaysia to the northeast and Indonesia to the southwest, with the city-state of Singapore at the tip of the Malay Peninsula.

Malaysia sent two naval ships to join the search and rescue efforts. Malaysia's navy chief, Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin, tweeted that two ships as well as aircraft from its navy and air force have been deployed to help look for the missing U.S. sailors.

Brent D. Griffiths and The Associated Press contributed to this report.