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。 9 Q6 _* w; T6 \" e- J* B$ ~3 h, D! B7 g4 I6 m1 J5 e
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。& X2 I$ M b1 w) i
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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。 : P3 S% A) f( ^( e5 T( n 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。' I! C. O0 x, f1 a( |
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Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast # W" d+ A2 Y7 \: _ 2 o$ B0 @3 r2 d" G k9 P$ fRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained 4 n$ j. g a6 ?4 y* R- k* i: u* h+ o1 o' L1 V) l
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. 8 n. s ~0 W: S/ ~ - q" i- T6 A7 J }7 y& D QThe 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.( T2 ~9 ^- R* O! x. p
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The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.4 a% g+ D. q. _/ U) y
8 G' O- z2 j5 n) B5 ` a: q2 XMcGuinn 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.% w" W! Z# ]( P
0 D5 C5 i9 b! w7 W! vBecause 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.- _4 O# l1 H% |9 [
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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. * z9 C/ ]0 z4 X$ I0 ]& ]- c" O4 J+ o: h7 f$ F& 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."; B- |9 R, M6 Z* Z3 F& x: R
# e6 Y" N/ H! z* V0 c ~$ ~: LThe 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.: A9 r- ?" v K2 W$ a. 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 92