Search intensifies in Lithuania: Soldier still missing after accident
These tragic events at the Lithuanian training ground in Pabrade are not yet concluded. Experts agree that the body of the last victim from the accident is likely resting in a layer of silt near where the M88 Hercules armoured vehicle sank. Despite the involvement of divers and soldiers, locating it has proven difficult.
— If the Hercules drove into the bog at high speed, a crew member might have been thrown out. Alternatively, he might have tried to escape the vehicle. Operating in cold water, in a dense environment, borders on impossibility. As the vehicle sank, a depression formed. Layers of mud closed over the soldier, and that is where he remained — Maciej Rokus, the head of the Polish Special Rescue and Diving Group, told WP. His group has participated in many rescue and search operations.
Meanwhile, at the training ground in Pabrade, Lithuanian and American services reported that the bodies of three soldiers were found after the wreck was retrieved. The search for the fourth crew member will continue until successful.
— It's a difficult and labour-intensive task, but we should be able to locate the fourth victim. We are considering sending our team to Lithuania to assist in the search — Maciej Rokus declared in a conversation with WP.
Drama at the training ground: Will it be possible to find the last soldier?
Maciej Rokus described what he believes is the most likely hypothesis regarding the last unaccounted-for victim. He suggests the soldier remained in the bog, where the front of the vehicle was. Over the weekend, participants in the search operation in Lithuania speculated that if the crew was trying to save themselves, the soldiers' bodies might have been near the sunken machine. This version was presented on Monday evening by Gen. Remigijus Baltrėnas, Chief of Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
— It's very challenging to discuss this in detail, but perhaps the water and mud pressure from the armoured vehicle submerging could have ejected the soldier from the vehicle itself — explained Gen. Baltrėnas to the media.
The general added that the site where the armoured vehicle sank was divided into sectors for thorough searching. Polish engineers joined the search for the missing soldier, Lithuanian media reported. This refers to sappers from the unit in Orzysz, who had previously arrived on the scene to offer assistance.
The search also involved two units of the Estonian police with service dogs, as well as an amphibious excavator with a rake that sifted through the mud layers. General Baltrėnas reported that the work is being conducted with the help of divers, sonars, and a drone.
Tragedy in Lithuania: How did the soldiers' accident occur?
It was earlier confirmed that the soldiers served in the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division. On Tuesday, March 25, they set out with the M88 Hercules to evacuate another American vehicle that had broken down during military exercises. The crew sent for the task was declared missing.
Evidence later showed that their 63,000-kilogram vehicle drove into the bog and sank. The site is described as a trap: beneath the vegetation lies a 12-metre-deep marsh.
Lithuanian and American soldiers, along with Polish sappers from Orzysz (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship), participated in the rescue and search operation. There was no progress for several days. The search operation at the Lithuanian training ground will be remembered: to retrieve the sunken vehicle, divers had to operate in black, opaque water, working blindly, in complete darkness.
A breakthrough occurred on Sunday when American divers managed to attach the first line to the vehicle. The operation continued, and the vehicle was retrieved early Monday morning.
