Six days of searching: Missing US soldiers found in Lithuanian swamp
After six days of a search operation, the sunken vehicle belonging to American soldiers was extracted from the swamp, reports the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence.
What do you need to know?
- On Monday morning, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence announced that after six days, they managed to extract an armoured vehicle that was submerged in mud.
- Four American soldiers went missing on Tuesday during exercises at the training ground in Pabradė, near the border with Belarus.
— The armoured vehicle was pulled to the shore at 5:40 AM GT, the towing operation was completed, and the Lithuanian Military Police and US investigators are working, — said Lithuania's Minister of National Defence on Monday morning, quoted by the portal delfi.lt.
— Currently, the Lithuanian Military Police and US investigators are working at the scene, so we cannot provide any additional information. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief that the hardest work has been done, the first and toughest part of the operation. Six days of persistent work, requiring hundreds of people working day and night, finally brought the first, extremely important result — added Dovile Szakaliene.
Since Wednesday, 26th March, a search operation for four American soldiers has been underway at the training ground in Pabradė, Lithuania. The military personnel were travelling in an M88 Hercules armoured vehicle, which sank in the swamp.
On Sunday afternoon, the Lithuanian Armed Forces reported a breakthrough in the operation. "A major step forward has been made in the operation - the first line was attached to the sunken armoured vehicle."
American soldiers went missing during exercises in Lithuania
On Tuesday at 5:45 PM Greenwich Time, the command received a report that four American soldiers along with a tracked vehicle went missing during exercises near Pabradė.
"Soldiers from the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division went missing in the early hours of 25th March while conducting a technical operation aimed at extracting another vehicle in the training area. Since then, rescue operations have been ongoing," reads a statement from the US Army Europe and Africa that was sent to the Wirtualna Polska editorial team.
The search was initially conducted by American soldiers, Lithuanians, and local services.
