5 soldiers dead, 4 missing after flood sweeps army truck in Texas
Xinhua, June 3, 2016 Adjust font size:
Five soldiers were killed and four others went missing on Thursday after their military vehicle was overturned in floodwaters at Fort Hood, a U.S. military post located in the central part of the state of Texas.
According to local TV station KHOU, the accident happened at a low-water crossing of a rain-swollen creek around 11:20 a.m. local time. The five soldiers confirmed dead were located downstream from where their Light Medium Tactical Vehicle was overturned.
The military base started emergency operations in search of the four missing soldiers, dispatching aircraft, canine search teams, heavy-ground equipment, swift-water rescue watercraft, and search personnel.
Three other soldiers were rescued from floodwaters on Thursday afternoon and remain in stable condition.
A spokesman for Fort Hood John Miller said that the low-water crossing of the creek was flooded by two days of intermittent heavy rains when the swift water swept the truck away from the road.
Severe storms have pummeled Texas, with widespread flooding reported across the state. Governor of Texas Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster across 31 counties.
About half of the state is under flood watches or warnings, including Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, where about 1,400 homes have been affected by the overfull of the Brazos River after heavy rainfall since last week.
The national weather service has warned that heavy storms are possible in the next few days. Endi