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。 , d8 y& I$ A6 H+ D, B9 |+ h$ J7 A. H1 B$ E, q( l% D9 ?1 i
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。 ' `" f8 h; p$ F7 [6 R% B ! q) {$ `) i2 q- h& }! 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。# z% e- u7 X3 P' i
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。 ; v& Y) l9 j0 G ( |# P: P5 F+ @& iNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast/ L3 Q N2 {1 g' t/ T# {
" \) ~3 _( _: H1 [Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained8 U' T4 l! w. T0 C* p1 }
3 G3 L4 W/ s4 v' C) p% x7 ~% DNORFOLK, 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.8 d$ o/ P& a0 T& z) [* z( Q
$ r% n4 u: \, ~* ]9 h* qThe 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. + t9 ^' x3 D K) c6 j# r+ _. I i
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. , Q( S' N0 z* L8 I4 {( k/ a ( r% b% j3 M0 y) ~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.3 s" E7 q3 }+ @6 b/ v0 ?7 T
) d# ^. Q, u% x! M5 G0 _7 WBecause 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. , v( Q5 ~3 j8 u; A* U% ~5 C% r+ Y6 C5 _/ n" L
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. # y1 y- k! s. _+ f# S& ~* K2 s7 J0 P& o" m5 H! `) w+ s* 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." ( s4 E6 [3 @* K- O; a6 S, }; J 3 [: O* A" A! V( [+ 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" Q, \$ r; O; G7 U) \, b$ Q
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