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。 / E6 D# _9 ^, ?2 l: z8 G' F- ^+ L8 @
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。 " q6 k R1 g _% N2 J6 f4 B- V " P- L- y% @3 T' U% V 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。 - r9 D" X$ n8 y) \+ G% |3 C 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。1 ` ]/ e {1 u% y) }- f
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Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast* }8 M. O4 A& V- M3 ^
/ I' E: ?+ n# L) KRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained 6 v% f% c+ h+ ]4 K, ~. }% L k2 {$ ?6 K! k6 c1 d6 }/ O2 T% [. C; p
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. 4 u2 s. u4 `. v' y/ \4 @5 f- `! _* S8 f% J% f
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. # X9 M: h# P& W 8 g! o V/ X5 t2 H/ hThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.- C9 L" n0 ]6 T% G: J
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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. A# ~4 X, b" h8 B, }" j8 N1 b9 m8 Z " r/ e- `( b% e1 G( S5 }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.% z" ^/ n' R0 s% I$ }, c
8 P6 V0 v3 L; O) L1 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. ! I) E: A. N- E 9 \/ N2 x8 k2 l9 t; G+ z9 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." 8 ?6 @5 c# \) Q" ^' V. N2 W& ]3 k8 X, N0 Y# {& {3 w/ ~9 i m
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.$ e! t# k C0 P" c6 g( ~) O
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