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 w0 _$ ^* b. L# _; V
6 e8 ]6 X% l- N8 g$ X& ~3 q- \' U 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。 7 b4 @4 G( |* G( A! x* h6 L+ c 2 m7 U5 x/ A- s% d3 ] 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。 8 e, }, }4 E/ c% t3 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。0 H6 C9 [3 p8 t$ M; D: x# H; i
5 N- A' _1 I# h; g5 X) xNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast! w( l P, F* {6 f8 |2 y$ b. P
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Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained C& M- P& ~" [ + }8 ^; z$ a0 p) S! [3 v0 B& zNORFOLK, 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.0 V- ~' c+ d* i6 |! [' m
2 m/ i, ~/ ~) A, ]( O; k. ~! iThe 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. % Y; Y+ u6 ]* _% k2 R3 Q: `0 B+ [9 Z. ^* N/ d- D `8 U
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.) [, v9 D4 d# O* k+ b
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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. : c8 a1 i. y. `3 n- A1 c Z7 U" J+ _6 W& m) j0 J0 T
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. 2 W) X) C; w, E/ R" b L. W ~: v& P# k# R' }6 b) a7 L' m; e7 q
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.0 T6 r: B% e, M5 S
: ]: a! Z! L/ h* r$ M, ]"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." ; K! e& S& C, ?7 e) r 4 V# {( Q: i2 R; c, B* cThe 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.- K( c9 A2 q8 K9 [/ @
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 92