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。: F- k5 c# }3 X; j0 H
8 M" m: L' }' o' z1 T6 d' q
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。 # a. ~7 @" f! Y) M 0 T9 u6 \ t3 ^. b2 ] 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。0 Z8 J, F" l4 J n2 O o$ p) a
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。 ( k8 V0 O2 @% s7 w8 ^! r c3 k; t7 A3 C/ Z
Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast& x8 c- H- f! I& E# U0 f) B
' w) n& Q- ^2 ? z6 [3 Q2 b- NRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained, \' F3 i1 R8 O" ?% B! G; e
@4 d! ?2 I- j7 `) e/ C( @# CNORFOLK, 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. ( t/ _$ I$ m6 c" h% `) D 1 m8 H2 K/ B( v# U' l0 ^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. 7 K$ g8 a3 N2 {* l3 N$ X% V( t) o$ r! v8 B/ e6 A( |
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation. # P5 Z1 l; m H+ R- ]1 p9 C; p5 u! b ' {% n! l/ V4 b+ L& L2 Z9 l7 l8 kMcGuinn 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.8 M7 C! b( x( g8 d; s T1 ]; \
s8 R7 W0 q: T; Q9 V& T$ }( K/ EBecause 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& `$ s- S
: w* [4 d5 e6 C# q: u- PThey 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.% U& H, s2 Z9 x8 A5 G" p8 N9 R
8 }) u/ v1 j+ e& H: N( n1 ^"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." 7 k& L6 i: s# s9 r; x/ b/ M* E* Q; a( X
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. , t' E/ |$ z/ L6 f) m4 X4 p. l1 p8 B% a8 c) ?
[ 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 91