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。 ( v/ p5 s7 h. R* T# E% e9 Q! x9 x3 B8 o! h+ p2 i3 ~6 ~% 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。/ ?8 i0 Z/ t( Z- q3 C( t5 G
' y& w8 d$ `" z: T" j- @
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。 v( b/ z" M+ M9 J0 u) |. F& i) ~
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 M/ U n& J$ y. V, u% A- \/ T7 b
Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast * o/ ~; F' f1 L6 G' q! d& O+ w- d/ |9 |
Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained- W0 A) Z+ I7 w$ J0 ~+ [& n
/ [ [: j) A/ O
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., \2 x' f0 |( n1 _" N
" i6 H, H; u3 ]4 WThe 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.* G+ D7 R2 `0 ~( B
& T3 |0 @+ R& U! O' `4 j
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.3 S/ v8 [# v3 \% Q
- P6 u @+ `2 f7 U% W
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.& h" Z* D. Z3 }5 ^' m
7 I, L9 Y Q! f3 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. ^* m' v k. d; i3 h
( E/ l |/ {% n0 Y V% d! a. H2 Y7 VThey 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.7 r; C5 c1 P5 Y0 w% U
) E4 }# G% _2 [! V9 b: S
"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."6 z$ m3 h3 B+ O; z8 X! X: f
4 I7 s* B& o5 ~9 K" ?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.) R: j+ r3 U# {1 L' @ `
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 95