Five special warfare sailors injured in boat training mishap

Five Naval Special Warfare sailors were injured early Friday when the boat they were traveling in struck San Diego’s Zuniga Point jetty, officials said.

All five were taken to local hospitals following the mishap, which occurred at about 1:50 a.m. during “routine training operations,” according to Naval Special Warfare Command spokesperson Cmdr. Ben Tisdale.

Tisdale described the injuries as “non-life-threatening” in a statement to Navy Times Friday afternoon, and added that three of the five sailors had already been released.

He said in an email that the sailors were in a rigid hull inflatable boat, or RHIB, and declined to state their unit, saying only that they belonged to a “West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.”

“An investigation into the mishap is underway,” Tisdale said.

The jetty juts south off the southwestern edge of Naval Air Station North Island outside San Diego, and Navy SEALs are based at nearby Naval Base Coronado.