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。5 j( r5 y: o, A9 y; {
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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。 M7 O. n: j* v4 g+ \% k" p& r' [( r) i& \
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。8 [" j8 Z( \! h# U
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。 - _1 X& T; C0 U7 o5 ?1 H" z& P8 Z# l $ I. y0 E. x$ ]5 [8 ~Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast- p' M1 \. `& z x5 j. l
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Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained ' l* E+ f- |& f8 M2 T8 f ! l2 {: M% w3 c- P8 T4 TNORFOLK, 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." a( D3 K: f! ~% ]( q
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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.$ e% o, K! d' B
9 K4 A$ q' c* Q( OThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.+ @# X* S% q, y9 L$ o
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McGuinn 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. ; l' V9 H0 q. j* H) R% g9 I5 U) C9 U# n' g9 r: D2 h# A! D2 q! c
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.3 L% Z9 B; V3 d2 e: ^6 h M3 k' }
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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. / D; N: ?4 y, k, s9 z5 w) E3 U , S3 ^! o8 `- h( {* ]2 |, q"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."* v- s' P: E( {% R
) L. O! ^4 z4 U/ AThe 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. & R- h' e; g1 {5 S ; z! i5 {' q" n6 `6 j/ j0 x; I0 t[ 本帖最后由 日月光 于 2007-3-15 09:22 编辑 ]
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 111