Missing vehicles recovered by American soldiers from Lithuanian swamps, but no news
Vilnius, Lithuania A US armored vehicle missing in Lithuania has been retrieved from the swamp after a six-day search, but there is still no information on the fate of the four American soldiers inside, Lithuanian officials said Monday.
“The armored vehicle was driven on at 4:40 a.m. at 4:40 a.m., and the towing operation was complete, with Lithuanian military police and U.S. investigators continuing to work,” Defense Minister Dovil ėšakalienė said in a Facebook post on Monday morning.
The soldiers trained at the massive Silvastras Zikoskas training ground in the town of Prablabrad when they and their vehicles were It was reportedly missing in the early hours of Tuesday morningthe U.S. Army said.
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“We need to stay calm and focused before investigators have more details and remember the sensitivity of the situation and the focus of the soldier’s family,” šakalienė posted on Facebook.
She made it clear to reporters that the first message about the fate of the soldiers will be delivered by the U.S. Army.
The soldiers came from the 1st Brigade of the Third Infantry Division and were undergoing tactical training when they were missing.
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Hundreds of Lithuanians and American soldiers and rescuers participated in the search, passing through thick forests and swampy terrain, Pabrad is located 6 miles west of the border with Belarus. The M88 Hercules armored vehicle was found on Wednesday, flooded with 15 feet of water.
one Large-scale recovery operation here we go Complex recovery work The military said special equipment was needed to drain water from the side and stabilize the ground “in order to drive the 70-ton vehicle to the shore.
“Large capacity mud pumps, cranes, more than 30 tons of gravel and subject matter experts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are just some of the assets on site that can assist in access to the M88,” the U.S. Army’s Office of Public Affairs said in a statement Friday.
“It will be a long and difficult… action, but we are absolutely committed to bringing our soldiers home,” said Curtis Taylor, commander-in-chief of the 1st Armored Division, in a statement Friday.
Lithuania is a member of NATO and the EU, and has received more than 1,000 US troops on the basis of rotation.
