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。 ; q1 ~3 C$ Y4 A3 v3 z& |9 P- c9 F, q/ r* k0 l8 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。 6 I+ Q+ K$ S3 Y: n/ _& R & q2 `' s- O( e 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 ~6 r! ]% K3 D, d" F% N( O9 l
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。 ) O, F, L" d1 m7 x; \4 x, a) |2 O! L1 ~6 V' f; t! ^7 E
Navy Briefly Loses Contact With Sub Off Florida Coast; b- V& O& i4 u2 Z. r
! z. I5 z& p0 nRescue Effort Under Way When Communications Regained 5 j E$ G+ }$ L2 ? ; M! r4 \7 i! ?* v1 c) w# sNORFOLK, 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. & m$ t$ M4 I" {: O1 S- R+ A, g, o2 ^0 G
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. ! R* | C1 b# r1 ?; B * K% [( N' p% w' r# H2 |The communication lag on Tuesday evening was not explained, and Navy spokesman Phil McGuinn said the incident remains under investigation." h+ N* f4 T$ u, }5 k
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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. 3 N& O8 p- x5 _; O5 h4 Q+ a* p$ w& z6 K* Z4 Q
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. ; Z$ V# T, E! ^- V* K/ i( B) m9 y1 y8 g8 i- `
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.4 ~/ c b; \/ B" {- G: ]: q
2 J2 x% }7 a' \( {& ^"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."9 g: K3 v$ P3 k3 c
) x; S( q0 U1 d! c/ X( M: k% 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.+ u1 f _ `3 y" y. C$ C' E
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