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。 - c9 n& }. m6 d* e# w' X) G. a# {1 u" a" F( C9 ]" M# b
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。 , V+ c4 h$ O0 [6 h 2 E( O' W8 E& J# R! j 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。; O. t8 N, U5 v7 {+ o' f
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。/ l: F+ I' ~, D8 X! ^; Q
7 w( |! o: }8 y6 H/ e/ TNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast1 o7 e1 I9 h7 ~% Y$ y
v4 D+ g5 n# q2 {0 F. }4 eRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained - b! ^9 _( {, t7 V* s5 _; j+ V- K
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 Z: e+ @5 m3 e/ [% a4 k& E* b % o' a3 }! W7 q4 M! j& YThe 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.0 e$ r" U$ q1 e/ M$ B1 t; o+ y
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The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation., u) {! ^/ N. P5 F& [
( g! ] ?) J* H1 `- OMcGuinn 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. & j2 j/ k' a$ s* _) \ 3 _6 h& u( p- a6 L1 e; NBecause 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. 0 d( r0 ?* o+ Y/ w! C% @, P p* C2 e3 v' J; c" }5 QThey 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. : u% _# V8 v* ?3 m! l4 O9 M; Z/ S0 J \# H# }. f2 L
"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." ! a! c* l, |5 w6 J3 ~' ~0 ?4 l$ q3 K' O
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.5 ]) F! j) _7 _; k: o/ z3 P$ ?
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 95