YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A USS Kitty Hawk sailor collapsed Monday while working on the ship and died hours later at the base hospital, Kitty Hawk officials said Tuesday.

The 35-year-old petty officer first class collapsed about 4 p.m. while working in one of the ship’s aircraft maintenance work centers, said Lt. Cmdr Brook DeWalt, a Kitty Hawk spokesman. The sailor, whose name was not released, died at 10:23 p.m. local time.

The sailor’s death appeared to have been caused by a “pre-existing medical condition,” DeWalt said. “It doesn’t appear to have been caused by work accident or injury.”

DeWalt said the hospital had determined the sailor’s cause of death but that he was not authorized to release it. Hospital officials could not be reached for comment.

The sailor was conscious when he was taken off the ship, DeWalt said.

Migrated