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。 5 |( f v7 [7 I! C! X& H$ N6 ] - s Z& _4 h/ }- A3 \ 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。 5 x0 @7 D+ ~. ^: X' P; G# G. _5 }0 `7 e8 M
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。# m: x9 p3 u, d) r: I- }2 K8 z
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。& D- X; [& g7 K8 |7 D' F
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Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast + G4 T9 M& G2 ]3 }6 x7 a/ Y' e1 Q& S% n8 r# o' n2 J# s( p8 Y' j9 E- T
Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained ! k" A5 i: E! m$ |9 u" w 3 `4 B2 R+ |+ z3 P% b& PNORFOLK, 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.0 m b* f9 N- X6 F2 N- T( Y
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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. 6 M& e- E3 f) E, d * o! e) A$ T$ R7 c6 d) { dThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. 3 @% ^1 \. G1 p+ T# `1 l % a2 ]3 t5 g1 z9 v& VMcGuinn 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. X: C# J0 s5 j8 W8 n+ B
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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.2 h/ l$ K C# [2 T' u+ v/ U2 t0 [
" m! q/ X L ~. U' e5 aThey 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 n3 O. {9 e, a; { . D% {, R$ ^# o+ i+ v"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." 9 f, M9 ?8 C8 l$ r" f8 P2 _* O4 e8 r3 z% b$ d/ ^
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.0 k( B& X B2 r) a4 r( R
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