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。# z/ _7 \. d! [, R+ I# n
# c6 _, c- A; P: _; k, M 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 J h* }1 G2 }
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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。 1 R/ G" O, r$ q$ J7 i% A2 `4 N 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。0 @' E% X7 `# S4 Q4 [8 t3 {! p
9 O6 ~( ?. H" [1 {9 }Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast- B, {+ X' D/ a0 Y8 S# \3 \% T
+ T! w9 k3 T' h; H% ^7 sRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained ( o- W! R# i1 W+ s" M$ R* {8 J8 E0 d2 Q U3 @
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 Z8 j9 K0 |# u/ Y! d& h! ~1 C" n& A7 T+ l! c* j" s$ q
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. $ Q; v! @" c: Y 0 U0 @( H+ j0 N: T( R- G bThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. M) @% |/ c5 l* R2 M# f& q
% d* I# X9 r: G6 ~ o& o/ SMcGuinn 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. - L/ Z/ ~# C5 A" d $ W' _" }( P: J: W% H: {7 d$ 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.7 {9 {! v8 K- e6 V0 Q* h
+ T* D* [0 `; K8 c& z# zThey 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. 7 n- n- h7 `2 w. R" q v6 w8 Y * S: G$ w0 E5 |5 b o" Z"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." D# ~( G9 G+ {, O" Q
' K- R- s8 n# v6 ~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.$ B' u! |, C: s+ h
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