Riga, Mar. 31, (dpa/GNA) – After recovering a tank that had sunk metres deep in mud, the US military confirmed on Monday the deaths of three of four soldiers missing in Lithuania.
The search for the fourth soldier at the Pabradė military training ground on NATO’s eastern flank near the border with Belarus will continue, the US Army European Command headquarters in the German city of Wiesbaden said in a statement.
The US Army and Lithuanian authorities have also launched investigations into the cause of the accident.
“The soldiers we have lost in this tragedy were not just soldiers – they were a part of our family. Our hearts are heavy with a sorrow that echoes across the whole Marne Division, both forward and at home,” said Major General Christopher Norrie, the 3rd Infantry Division commanding general.
The US State Department expressed its condolences to the troops’ families and thanked the emergency services for the days-long search operation.
“This is a very painful loss and a very sad day for all Lithuania,” Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė posted on X. “We can assure you, we will not rest until we will find the last missing soldier,” she wrote on the platform X.
President Gitanas Nausėda and Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys also expressed their condolences and offered their sympathies to the soldiers’ families.
The four US soldiers have been missing since last Tuesday. They could no longer be found after an exercise in which they were conducting planned tactical training, the US Army said.
The Lithuanian military and police then launched a joint search operation with the US military.
The M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle was later discovered at a depth of about 5 metres in a swampy area of the training ground.
After days of search efforts, the rescue teams managed to recover the heavy military vehicle in the early hours of Monday. Hundreds of soldiers and rescue workers participated in the operation.
Šakalienė said the nearly 70-ton tank was lifted out of a swamp at the military training area in Pabradė with the help of armoured vehicles and other heavy equipment.
Top general Raimundas Vaikšnoras also confirmed in a Facebook post the completion of the recovery of the US Army’s M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle.
Since 2014, the US has been deploying units on a rotational basis for manoeuvres in Lithuania and along NATO’s eastern border. According to Lithuanian reports, a US battalion is currently stationed in Pabradė.
There is strong sympathy in Lithuania for the US Army. In Vilnius Cathedral, a joint prayer for the missing soldiers was held on Sunday.
GNA
PDC