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。 ' ?. r2 ]* o5 I( ~: D5 [- N ( g3 C" \. k* n# 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。: u, h0 o: Y. P5 u1 R! P' R
9 `; F8 v2 P% ` 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。4 i% r: C" g, J0 U
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。 6 ~0 {. T, O$ V( }2 |4 `& `5 {7 k6 Q$ x8 j& O; z
Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast 4 W6 e+ v$ _$ ~$ `& p- h* J! X 8 Y* F- v: I1 q& d* R; eRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained * _% X. j" Z# n8 K 0 K2 v/ T r) {2 _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.9 g# ?6 J& C, t# k) K3 X# P! ]
& |1 ?4 r' x, c- D% ^( ~( ^
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.6 t& k, k: O' E
% e0 F \0 F! M7 V! d1 _; M4 B
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.2 i( Z% q& o8 V7 ^; R) y* t1 l
5 \; S' ]3 _6 z1 b ^* D
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.3 B+ b0 ]8 n0 M& Q& E2 l4 b, U" Q! ]
7 x# o* ~( C% k; `) m4 aBecause 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.! ?5 z [; a: q
! p9 X: G& N4 b# L7 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.7 K2 Q9 y8 E3 ^4 v$ u
~, i0 y. J+ y"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."0 a, f) r. w" G7 f
+ E$ V8 a9 [) X: D5 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. $ z4 ]; {2 D! P" r # e$ a+ p6 p7 ^9 Y; R; e' y[ 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 95