Three of the four U.S. Army soldiers missing in Lithuania since last week were found dead inside their armored vehicle, according to the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command.
The soldiers, all members of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart in Savannah, went missing during a training exercise on March 25. Their bodies were recovered from the armored vehicle on March 31. It had become submerged in the wet, muddy ground of a peat bog.
The soldiers’ identities are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Meanwhile, search and recovery operations continue for a fourth soldier believed to have been in the vehicle. The accident happened in the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground near Pabradė, near the Belarus border.
Week-long search
Hundreds of Lithuanian and U.S. soldiers and rescuers scoured dense forests and swampy terrain near Pabradė. Lithuanian authorities provided wide-ranging support, including military helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, drones, search and rescue personnel, heavy construction equipment and technical expertise, AP reports.
U.S. Navy divers battled zero visibility conditions to reach the vehicle and attach cables, enabling it to be towed out Monday morning.
“The armored vehicle was pulled ashore at 4:40 a.m., the towing operation is complete, Lithuanian Military Police and US investigators continue their work,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said on Facebook.
The search for the remaining soldier continues, with a Navy dive team using radar to help locate them.
“We stand in grief with the families and loved ones of these extraordinary ‘Dogface Soldiers’ during this unimaginable time,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd Infantry Division commander. “But the search isn’t finished until everyone is home.”
An investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing by U.S. Army and Lithuanian authorities.
