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。9 O( ^$ {, E- B5 d7 k9 L; d- u
' h7 ^, C' t$ D, w
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。" t; _6 z- ~9 j N3 W
% R* j2 h0 s* d6 o3 Z 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。" C( e _5 p: 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。 - v; I+ L: z% K8 M8 Z# ~* y, G1 d 4 Q! N }' m" F9 hNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast6 Z3 }! p! K7 ~* c" Q
1 y, b1 U$ r6 J+ j" Z
Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained 1 M' N/ v3 l4 o) Z+ _% g0 O* n) j' a5 q
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.& k- e9 ?: x& ^# O' X' y
+ T5 `1 _* s4 e& u, ?
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.+ W3 d/ A, g5 k! W- S) z
$ i2 B3 r: z0 c3 N3 |1 KThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. ) J) `# e2 E* h: Q5 z 0 u/ y3 e, o0 {( g# ?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. ' D# z2 ^6 K' _" R' Q ; E# Q0 D: Q! e' @2 P& H+ S$ NBecause 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. % P5 V3 M* b' `2 f. s2 Y& S) d6 T
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. / I+ a7 H" m- e3 I7 c ' F h$ K6 g! A' L5 W d"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."1 e/ i5 ]7 n* q% u
# {7 n) l% ?9 h1 \* ]- dThe 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. - q3 r F3 ^ c- g- G/ |% x$ _, j 5 u, Z" z, [8 y5 n4 ?[ 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