5 dead, 4 missing after Army truck swept away

Associated Press

FORT HOOD, Texas

Five soldiers were killed and four were missing after an Army truck was washed from a low-water crossing and overturned Thursday in a rain-swollen creek at Fort Hood, a spokesman for the Texas Army post said.

Aerial and ground crews searched the 20-mile Owl Creek that winds through heavily wooded terrain on the northern fringe of the 340-square-mile Army base after the truck flipped in swift floodwaters during a late-morning training exercise. Three soldiers were rescued and were hospitalized in stable condition.

It was not clear whether the search would continue overnight, ahead of more thunderstorms expected to move through the area today that could complicate the effort. Parts of Texas have been inundated with rain in the past week, and more than half of the state is under flood watches or warnings, including the counties near Fort Hood. At least six people died in floods last week in Central and Southeast Texas.

Army aircraft, canine search teams, swift-water rescue watercraft and heavy trucks were being used in the search near Cold Springs and Owl Creek.

The Army did not release the names of the dead because it was still notifying relatives.

Fort Hood spokesman John Miller said the low- water crossing of the creek was flooded by two days of intermittent heavy rains when the swift water swept the truck, called a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle, from the road. The 21/2-ton vehicle resembles a flatbed truck with a walled bed and is used to carry troops.