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。2 I! A# S& S) ~) w8 ~% c
2 E( O5 q0 H0 M3 N( M& H3 y6 G* [0 h 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。 ' X: v5 s" D5 \/ X 9 K2 I: v+ u7 ?# d4 ]9 @ 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 [, Z+ C2 l; T. g 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。 / [4 n/ x1 u, { E& C. ^( ^$ f. I" ^1 Z( {# f; M0 p8 T
Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast) z! b6 D M: ` c: g
3 N) h( [( r; i. ]0 U# ?# H
Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained$ \* _3 Z7 p7 K$ u1 Z+ H+ X) i
" a# q, V m! {" S4 A
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.0 D7 r$ i4 s; I; z1 t- D7 M% ^0 f
& D+ Z8 k9 P1 _/ E" T; B* z5 q2 c; KThe 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.0 v J" A, B) U
% X& c3 f+ a, l9 v5 Y; lThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. ! @0 \ _# h% z. ^& l+ R+ F/ @4 f W! O! ~# ]
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. 4 f! o- R, [8 V. I' d) r: ]# T! C! A. v: i5 ~4 ~
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.! O. a' }' `! J, v- c3 y8 i _
$ I9 R) e, M$ y& F3 c2 oThey 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. 2 x' k3 H/ L) w- h" T+ [: m7 S/ K8 f) [0 @, 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."/ J! V/ m! \( L' Z
\; Q+ n' K+ Q- b- D
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 T2 E. G1 P( P* j- a/ t
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