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 Q: x9 F2 u4 ?/ K
# W1 ]& ^9 T) S4 @! D v 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。 5 Z& x# s4 Q0 B% a; }2 t9 `6 E9 Y1 ]) j4 R. L6 A7 S! B
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。; s* d% \' q; B( Q, 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。% \$ \- e% m' L3 [
" D+ U9 T' ?7 V6 \* `3 _Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast & N0 {8 v* N& I5 r W8 {, c/ J. S $ w4 k+ E5 ]) }! dRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained / ]) L( p& {$ r8 r( r% K2 V / [+ q0 h9 j L" y F5 \& NNORFOLK, 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. ; s6 i0 P- x3 D, n" a7 m q$ N: C% U; Y + f2 `& |$ `' I3 \. E9 mThe 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. * }( D+ h& W# w1 u% B: q 5 y* X1 C: }0 P+ C) ~( HThe communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.' l% ~9 e* b9 i& j5 {! [
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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.8 }. k. B" @3 O r5 r
2 Z. Z- R' _( j7 a4 q+ WBecause 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. . R: G' R5 C' n % g' _# q, E! a h7 r% j2 Z1 A3 B6 W9 HThey 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. ! S- M2 F1 S. v# w2 ~. D6 v" T. P: |: T: e" j" ~
"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 T. P1 W: ^' w/ \ $ w0 P9 s: J4 W0 [# jThe 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., W5 T1 c( N9 B B
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