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。 4 l) B4 x' i0 `* ^6 e% D. X4 E" k1 U3 M# }6 a! a5 t2 Y
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。* Q1 _; P2 O' J7 D- u! y
* }' H& g! a! }( q5 K2 x0 h+ a 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。5 q1 |0 y+ e _/ y+ 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。4 e3 [$ B. J/ e$ A& A1 N
j/ u, f% d- @( ~0 JNavy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast" T/ m$ F, c* W' G2 \$ D, m. \3 I
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Rescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained 2 c8 y4 \; W, O6 G5 } & o; _& h R+ L1 X+ w0 ]" d& ANORFOLK, 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. * H; D* b4 }$ \1 a7 M+ V; j/ T& {4 I, I* T; A, C
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. 8 O8 a- t, K* Y4 A& S5 H6 m5 r7 b5 a) t, x
The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation.1 ~$ K; r/ H% d% H! ?2 @9 x
2 b! F3 v" |( P# T DMcGuinn 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. : V9 v6 s9 O" ]" i- @ 2 i. P/ m8 Z# g7 k* bBecause 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. ' z6 A% K' X; C- ^; a$ D! q % S1 P) Z8 ^/ \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. 3 q5 W2 P' f5 V+ i* ~% M9 x2 a7 j% T- x- u
"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.") i Z3 L2 r! E p
9 `1 k' B! S1 w5 T: qThe 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$ n4 f3 H6 t* b# G& Q1 v- G7 T/ a( W4 A6 X: _: X7 o5 F
[ 本帖最后由 日月光 于 2007-3-15 09:22 编辑 ]
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