Three soldiers were killed, three others injured and six were missing after a US Army truck was swept from a low-water crossing and overturned in a swollen creek at Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday.
It was the third tragic incident of the day for the US military, after a Blue Angels fighter pilot was killed in a crash in Tennessee and the pilot of an Air Force jet participating in a Colorado graduation ceremony’s flyover was slightly injured after he ejected before the craft crashed in a field.
The Texas soldiers involved are from the Army’s famed 1st Cavalry Division, which is based at Fort Hood.
The accident happened around 11:30 a.m. in an area near Cold Springs and Owl Creek, Fort Hood said in a statement.
The bodies of the three deceased soldiers were recovered from the water downstream.
Three other soldiers were rescued from the swift water and were listed in stable condition at Coryell Memorial Healthcare System in Gatesville, Texas.
They had been riding in a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle at the time of the incident.
Army aircraft, canine search teams, swift-water rescue watercraft and heavy trucks were being used in the search for the six missing soldiers.
The three soldiers who were killed have not yet been identified, pending notification of next of kin.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the soldiers their families and the Fort Hood community,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement late Thursday.
“The brave men and women stationed at Fort Hood put their life on the line every day, be it through rescue operations or on the battlefield. Texas will forever remain grateful for their sacrifices,” Abbott said.
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 from the road.
