PORT ARTHUR, Texas — The Port Arthur Fire Department's dive team training led to the discovery and removal of a truck from a waterway.
The vehicle was found in a waterway along Savannah Avenue, not far from the Motiva Enterprises refinery in Port Arthur.
Port Arthur Fire Chief Greg Benson tells 12News the vehicle was found by dive teams who have been looking for cars and trucks in area water as part of training.
This is done to train divers on using sonar technology.
"The intent is with the use of sonar in training when there is an incident, that they are more familiar with the equipment and the capability to initiate an operation,” Benson tells 12News.
Benson says the truck they removed Thursday was discovered a few weeks ago during another training.
He says removing the car is also good training.
"Part of training because they need to train on using sonar equipment to identify something in the water, but also it becomes a training when they find something and it needs to be removed," Benson said.
This is the fourth vehicle divers have found since the beginning of 2023, according to Benson.
Port Arthur Police Department Spokesperson Wendy Billiot tells 12News that by 3:30 p.m. Thursday, investigators were still waiting for their chance to examine the truck and determine if it was stolen.
Once the firefighters are done, police will run the VIN and check if it is reported stolen.
GET NEWS & WEATHER ALERTS | Download the 12News App to your mobile device
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.