The fourth soldier is still being searched for.
The bodies of three American soldiers have been found in Lithuania, nearly a week after their armoured vehicle sank in a swamp – writes the New York Times based on the army’s statement. The search for the fourth soldier continues. The 63-tonne M88 Hercules was lifted early on Monday morning, which required excavators, pumps and other heavy machinery.
American naval divers, engineers and several hundred specialists worked on the lifting for days, as the operation presented a serious technical challenge. Major General Christopher Norrie, the division commander, put it this way:
“The search will not end until everyone is home. Words cannot express our gratitude to those who work day and night and will not rest until everyone is found.”
The soldiers went missing last Tuesday during a routine maintenance task near Pabradė in Lithuania. According to the army, they set out with the M88 Hercules tow vehicle to rescue another vehicle, when they probably veered off the road and drove into the swamp, where they sank.
Early on Sunday morning the naval divers swam in complete darkness through the deep mud to attach a cable to the vehicle. The lifting took two hours, which was also hampered by a landslide. Lithuanian military helicopters, divers, as well as several hundred American and Lithuanian soldiers and police officers took part in the search.
