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 O. C$ B- n# n, o" a/ D7 s0 ]7 D- t% n# j* @3 r
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。3 Y. m* a3 L! N% P; _$ Y
+ M- X& Y0 @' ~ 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。3 x: B& l4 S) e% \ s
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。* K. X3 ]/ }5 b _5 A
/ P6 z; }/ i- Q( a% q' ]9 |' eNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast ) q# _# R u1 |. G2 t9 D* P7 w* e) s# b$ U2 Y
Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained5 H7 @8 j2 s& ~% ?1 N; [- n* m
4 S2 M; O; ~0 q6 l" y+ b
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. ' U6 L; T& Z. d1 _6 P; ^9 Y % S$ Q% }8 ^9 {; S1 q+ x) h6 zThe 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.8 T2 U1 |6 p7 P+ ?8 V
E. z; s4 t |9 c; t
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. - a) E+ ]1 f( X: _3 @: _# m3 }2 y9 w5 q) }
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.% N7 C& x: c- D, j g
3 V0 }- R$ V* t' UBecause 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 K5 Y9 k2 O2 b/ ~' ?
X' P- O# T; N7 n9 k) F7 s: h
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. ! Q6 ^8 q9 c9 ?3 n. r & T9 t5 Q, G3 E: i"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 h& Z; b0 I3 s, @
, k5 v: R* {0 P
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. ) }+ [9 A( ^( A B: h) T9 C7 E4 d3 ], M6 U4 J$ j
[ 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