A missing American armored personnel carrier in Lithuania has been pulled from a swamp after a six-day search, but there is still no information about the fate of the four American soldiers on board, Lithuanian officials said.
“The armored personnel carrier was pulled to shore at 4.40 a.m., the towing operation is complete, Lithuanian military police and U.S. investigators continue their work,” Defense Minister Dovilė Sakaliienė said in a Facebook post Monday morning.
The soldiers were on a training exercise at the General Silvestras Zukauskas Training Area in the town of Pabrade when the group and their vehicle went missing early Tuesday, according to the U.S. Army.
“Until investigators have more detailed information, we need to remain calm and focused, and remember the sensitivity of the situation and the concerns of the soldiers’ families,” Ms. Sakaliene wrote on Facebook.
She made it clear to journalists that the first information about the fate of the soldiers would be provided by the US Army.
All soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division went missing during a tactical exercise.
Hundreds of Lithuanian and American soldiers and rescuers took part in the search in the dense forests and marshy terrain around Pabrade, which is just 10 kilometers (six miles) west of the border with Belarus.
The M88 Hercules armored vehicle was discovered on Wednesday in 4.5 meters (15 feet) of water.
A massive recovery operation began, but “water, thick mud and soft soil around the site complicated recovery efforts and required specialized equipment to drain water from the side and stabilize the soil” to pull the 70-ton vehicle ashore, the army said.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
