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。 , N" i) N# D2 u' T \7 U0 C2 J# ?: N K, T( Z4 O" z
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。$ W3 Z9 @& z) }5 X1 _; ^2 P# ^
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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。( s% B, f' \6 u. S# C4 T( }
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。 ; q5 ]$ t: E# ]9 ]- k$ E3 W ( e2 u; J* } ]: ^9 f3 xNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast ) ~- l1 X/ g) |4 P' W% x1 s. N+ Z
Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained: f0 U0 @$ ?3 S3 l" A, `
% L$ |. t8 I$ RNORFOLK, 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. : C' K8 p- q' i/ V7 |/ ~# W 0 c' v8 n& y# L( 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. ; i/ B8 ^1 u3 \/ ^! Q1 j+ \& r" P9 A$ p6 h
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.3 s, S; h7 L0 v' y( b7 J
' j: j ], @4 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.7 N! n, X' E& o4 W( w( N$ w" |/ m
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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. k1 t$ Z5 {9 K S2 v W) Q# x7 ?1 m6 y
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. - o+ j4 l# t: j- ?! ^% k$ K& q# ~& [, O: I# l
"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."$ j9 W- Y7 F: X$ c b1 g1 w
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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. Y! H1 S G7 }* n1 p( w
9 v) u' C a: u z; e/ D[ 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 91