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 ?# K. E& p' D2 B" e9 n: I( Z- V9 p6 `. A+ A) [! `7 M6 z2 E
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。 ) y L- b6 s. P' ~ R1 M" ^ / \% x: g- E2 a: r, c( q+ w; Y 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。& C9 ^( N% B+ l$ [. g
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。+ y$ y0 J4 w! }- f2 }
! a& A6 }7 {6 ?+ L# ^Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast- ~ ~5 d1 A9 J- P: \
% Q+ g: I3 N2 n( h7 }Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained / V' |3 f& f, n: a/ x- g! I+ }6 ?' E: s7 I' {( \- {$ ?
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. - [% d; d3 ^; \; p / [; N8 a5 O$ R0 y6 J1 _6 K3 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. - p: x* w& g) k" R2 s, C$ R b4 a1 c* R/ ?) F0 PThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. . T& Z3 ?# T$ ]4 U. U) e5 ~6 C1 q5 [4 U0 N4 ]9 d0 R: n
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.* N) t- g5 p3 {
( U& D: G9 y* ~' e: \2 V8 ? A6 ZBecause 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. # l" f0 |/ y" e4 c$ S3 L' l* {( m( X* f$ `3 q
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. 5 {! @5 y! l) y 3 r# `: K* p( p }! U"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." ! w; X9 y( n5 _ y4 n6 Y' Y' k9 Y" M" U+ @" O* E6 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. + K' }: q6 ]. t; F / Y$ B6 ]- u! K# I[ 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 92