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。: j: l8 O; |) V5 h% O. x& [7 r
! m0 H" \6 `" d1 E( e# X( w! A* Q 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。 + Y3 @6 H$ Q" ^8 T & h$ D4 m2 z9 g 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。 ) [7 h, I9 `, [1 c: z; {( L 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, ^. n+ d' Q% R) S' }. @+ v8 ~
6 b% G6 {9 h4 ?' YNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast7 U& s5 s. `0 G* X6 W' T
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Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained & c4 c4 }( W+ @, }- h ) I- \$ W! H. `" i8 ~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.8 [0 v3 X# ~7 l1 e0 P% ]6 G2 F
* C1 W& r2 j2 XThe 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.' y6 `% Q0 Z" c$ y3 k$ r @
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The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. " Y% I7 l7 {$ A% f, X & B, i4 N/ T, i d; dMcGuinn 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. ; K }. T |- H$ j4 F. c9 ~3 k5 @' g0 P+ R
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. 1 I4 g. n8 n% D% @: n) a$ W3 ?1 I! S3 T7 y! P' \4 y6 b$ j
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.3 E8 | m) C+ {. E/ J7 Q& P0 ~' r
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"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."7 f. X0 F6 W6 O1 w; M
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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.% x7 p# Q* C' C T: n
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 91