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

Three soldiers were found dead shortly after the 2-ton truck was toppled from the crossing by the swift current of a flooded Owl Creek. Two more bodies were found late Thursday night, according to a Fort Hood statement.

No further details were provided in the statement, but spokesman Chris Haug said the search continued for the four soldiers who remain missing. Army officials planned a briefing early Friday to provide an update on the search.

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

Parts of Texas have been inundated with rain in the last 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. The Army did not release the names of the dead because it was still notifying relatives.

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

Fort Hood saw 2 to 3 inches of rain from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon, said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Talley in Fort Worth.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement saying the state “stands ready to provide any assistance to Fort Hood as they deal with this tragedy.”

Parts of Texas still recovering from heavy rainfall were watching a new batch of storms that could dump up to 10 inches of rain from Thursday through Saturday and worsen flooding caused by rivers and other waterways that already have risen to record levels.

A storm system that moved through the Houston area Wednesday night and Thursday morning dumped nearly 8 inches of rain in some of the city’s northern suburbs, causing flooding in some neighborhoods.


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