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。 ( P0 @, I( g1 L( Z/ R8 [ J) j; M; Z4 p& Y. x: s 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。 - P$ @# o. G0 }3 b$ j" B# e: b1 Q3 {6 Y, }* M/ r, a
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。* Q, `3 ?' A3 ?2 C# O! {
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。 % @! M; c# t8 V/ S6 O ! h$ L$ \7 o9 q- I2 F& xNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast. G M4 Q {) c! V- [: u; T5 i
8 ~9 s( ~' J1 Y7 k- j8 FRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained ) C0 s( |8 Z6 ^- I) P2 i: P% o/ C7 C# n6 x8 [. h* h2 h( J
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. : P* ^9 ^( {" V5 l( s0 X) r* x/ `( L# V8 E! _8 _6 p7 C6 l
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.; V9 m* R1 o B3 P+ _) L$ d
) J+ o5 a: W; d3 i) Z( G5 oThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.) S3 E2 O4 w$ w$ S
: @+ l3 q4 U% C; Y7 HMcGuinn 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. ! `& V, C& x% w/ y1 ~ % i0 C+ e; c2 |& G7 ^, S* @) n( Y$ pBecause 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. 8 ^% K, H& ~* s, s% v m/ B4 E + w, }. L2 M9 a* B9 eThey 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. ]: o [2 E$ v! k( ?) x0 n4 R3 ?, L% @. Y: {
"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." 5 ~$ n- y- W' U+ y+ n6 F+ h/ z5 p# U4 J& g# `% p v% k( H) x& M
The 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. ' @0 ~. f7 B1 S6 { ' b+ n1 W* f5 ~8 h- A2 T# j+ A: W[ 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 91