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。 6 _! r& }% d2 j4 ^2 r. @+ r3 A1 k/ M Z& i+ c
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。$ u* b! h- d v$ V1 w) B5 _) \7 `
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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。 y; x5 K( R1 g4 [4 y4 s8 B! x 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。- q9 O$ y/ R. ~4 [8 L
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Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast" z- S% O1 t% U( d
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Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained 7 Y q( P8 r% n6 Y3 G' p & k) O$ E* X# A& O# MNORFOLK, 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 s2 l# G/ Y' Z- _ 9 }: H( p3 p7 i* ^8 T1 r" QThe 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. # T* V. Y1 ^9 `/ U5 ~% N h" _7 {, v
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.% u/ T0 @3 S3 C$ m3 Y1 E# S
* x+ b, l- Y9 m6 _3 J/ 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. 0 x' k1 W, h- T- f% c6 P b. b) K' D4 }9 T. B+ V/ }4 H
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. & r4 r) }% @& a : y: r" R8 l% ~, LThey 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. 6 J. F* p. q m& n! s; @( I" |9 A% ?8 r) ^' ]
"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."4 p; X& @+ B6 w4 d/ F: Y
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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. & _$ [5 b3 ]9 T* q1 j4 Y+ l4 C" A! r8 X
[ 本帖最后由 日月光 于 2007-3-15 09:22 编辑 ]