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。 8 P6 m1 ^4 Q% {; ~1 z& t % n* ] L- Q( F8 q+ y8 H 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。0 _$ b: C, B6 x; _4 G4 s( K9 H
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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。 ' U2 y. z4 S; L$ l- S6 L 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。: p$ M& k; F; f; j/ {
% `5 M# E; F/ i* c7 a/ H8 dNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast ! l- c. O4 s0 i# Y" } 0 _8 E& [/ t/ ]* NRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained , A) ^9 D _2 Y7 e0 e6 l- N2 |8 R6 q. @
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. 4 r/ K% F7 |2 R ( {6 G p0 G- a0 q( F* v7 AThe 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.7 h$ ^+ [; h+ _" w$ R) O+ ?2 P# ^
- Z$ j7 p+ ?- \- U. `$ RThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation." f0 l- \! F" ~8 h9 ?% M
7 O; I' e. ^5 @- R$ s: A: Q' aMcGuinn 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! |0 }+ @# E: S5 v# t/ q6 @9 P; b* y3 N3 ?. i6 v
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. * T' C1 B" `0 S: l. F( q1 n+ P. K" I2 v3 Y% B
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. * t! N# _3 k, f% b [1 p9 @% R , |7 h) i, ]6 p& A"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." * L, i3 d6 |2 B$ T3 ]5 E; b7 W" v6 i* ^& V& E
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.% v& N' H" l. }7 Q% @" e, ?1 Z& c
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