MANNHEIM, West Germany -- An Army private stole a fully armed tank, injured four people, and demolished a bus, several cars and lamp posts in a dash downtown, then plunged off a bridge and presumably drowned in a river below, a military spokesman said.
German police, divers and two American tank retrievers worked into the night with floodlights to rescue the soldier -- but he remained submerged with the tank in 12 feet of water in the Neckar River.
'We presume he is dead,' the spokesman said. 'Those tanks aren't waterproof.'
Rescue efforts were hampered by fear of an explosion.
'The tank went over upside down and gasoline is leaking out. Any kind of a spark could make it go up in flames,' the spokesman said.
The soldier, a private attached to Sullivan Barracks, was not immediately identified.
There was no official explanation why the private stole the M-60 tank, but sources suggested he may have been drunk.
'As far as I know he was supposed to be going on guard duty,' the spokesman said.
One of the injured was another American soldier who jumped on the tank trying to stop it as the armored vehicle plunged through the pedestrian shopping district.
Three women also were hurt, one seriously.
Police said the tank caused mori than in $400,000 damagis.
'It was a miracle no one in the bus was injured,' a spokesman said.
They said several accidents occurred when cars swerved to try and dodge the oncoming tank on the mile-long stretch from the barracks to the city center.
