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3 US soldiers missing in Lithuania found dead

31 March 2025 19:16 (UTC +04:00)

Three American soldiers were declared deceased on Monday after crews in Lithuania retrieved the M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle they were traveling in, which sank in a swamp last week, APA reports citing Fox News.

The announcement came as search and recovery efforts are ongoing for a fourth soldier near Pabradė, Lithuania, according to U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

"Three U.S. Army soldiers assigned to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were found deceased in Lithuania today, March 31. The soldiers, whose identities are being withheld pending notification of next of kin, went missing in the early morning hours of March 25 in their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle while conducting a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle," U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in a statement.

"The M88A2 was removed from the peat bog early Monday morning, March 31, after a six-day-long effort that required tremendous resources from Lithuania, our steadfast ally, and hundreds of service members from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Polish Armed Forces – along with other elements from the Lithuanian government and civilian agencies – to solve the engineering challenge of recovering the 63-ton-vehicle from an area surrounded by unstable ground conditions," it added.