一艘载有大约140名官兵的美军潜艇，在佛罗里达州对开海域游弋时，一度与美军控制中心失去联络。海军担心潜艇沉没，于周二晚启动应变机制，派出战机和船只进行大规模的搜索行动，到14日清晨终于发现它的踪影，证实只是虚惊一场。当局现正调查潜艇一度失去联络10个小时的原因。: w- u5 `1 `8 A; i6 N
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海军证实，已于14日早上重新与一度失踪的洛杉矶级潜艇圣胡安号取得联络，并确定潜艇并无出现重大问题。潜艇上的无线电通讯系统可能出现故障，才引发这宗事故。据美国哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）报道，事发时，一支航空母舰战斗群和三艘潜艇正在佛州对面100哩的海域，进行演习，圣胡安号扮演敌军潜艇的角色。突然，有人见在海上闪出红光。传统上，这是潜艇发出求救讯号的方式。4 Q L- O; X+ O$ E9 a R
/ V1 j' n5 z, S' ~, _) j% \% y 航空母舰战斗群上的指挥官马上尝试与三艘潜艇联络，两艘作出响应，但圣胡安号却失去踪影。在美国东岸时间14日凌晨3时半，位于维珍尼亚州的诺福克潜艇中心发出一段罕有的重要讯息：潜艇沉没！由于事态严重，国防部长罗伯特．盖茨也接获通知，军方高层整晚留意事态发展。海军也开始派人通知圣胡安号上140名官兵的家人。7 L t2 ^5 o4 g; a6 T& C( }
到清晨5时许，控制中心才与圣胡安号再次取得联络，各方都松一口气。由13日晚7时至翌晨5时，圣胡安号与外界失去联络十小时。派驻艇上的军官表示，所有人都安然无恙，根本不知道发生了这件事。当局正调查引致这宗事故的原因，并安排于15日与其中三十名军人家眷见面，向他们作出解释，保证圣胡安号运作正常和安全。美国对上一次发生严重的潜艇事故是39年前，即1968年，潜艇蝎子号在美国东北部对开海域沉没。 7 Z' G/ W% n' H! z5 S. X) s ' L% n- h; }9 eNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast , f1 T3 H( G. N7 _/ h+ O6 o . A7 y0 V7 I+ ^" \6 N/ G% yRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained+ D4 r2 d9 D( C+ t( }
+ H- F; G) p# }NORFOLK, Va. -- The Navy said it lost communication with a submarine off the Florida coast for several hours Tuesday night and began rescue efforts before communications were re-established early Wednesday. 6 A! N0 C% c) r5 a% _7 b) ^2 k9 I: H4 X+ {% u0 W
The Naval Submarine Force said in a statement that there were no problems with the USS San Juan, a Los Angeles class submarine is based in Groton, Conn.. x# t X" C2 U# O( ], b9 Q
; n; Y9 h/ ~( z: VThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. # k( K4 x) v! B) i6 C ! @' k( W9 m+ F' X+ C- v R. R$ IMcGuinn said units of the USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group saw a red flare in the vicinity of the missing submarine Tuesday night and activated missing submarine procedures.' m- g) u" ?: e" C7 ^2 m
: l" V8 t0 m$ S8 K% d% ?1 R# E5 `Because the Navy maintained communications with two other subs in the area and observers spotted the signal flare, commanders believed the San Juan had gone down. : s0 ]. e* n& m3 z) g4 _1 W% q5 b # X! O6 o, t7 v( D) |They began search-and-rescue missions, alerted the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office and notified crew members’ families about the possibility of a lost submarine, officials said.: C2 N& f* a6 e9 Z; \6 \, A. |) Y
M* v5 R# D4 ~( a; W/ \* p"We had a false alarm," Lt. Cmdr. Chris Loundermon, public affairs officer at submarine force headquarters in Norfolk, told Navy Times. "We're investigating the details of what happened."; W6 j+ A$ F" Y6 `% r
0 {! V% \$ R# A; h7 }, H; YThe initial reports went to the top of the chain of command: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were notified.+ _2 D7 w+ o& P$ N. g3 E
图片附件: [「圣胡安」号潜艇] San Juan.jpg (2007-3-15 09:20, 32.65 KB) / 下载次数 113