The body of the final missing US soldier has been recovered in Lithuania, marking the conclusion of a somber search mission that involved multiple international military forces.
Fourth Missing US Soldier Found in Tragic Lithuanian Incident
Fourth Missing US Soldier Found in Tragic Lithuanian Incident
Recovery operations conclude as a fourth soldier's body is discovered after a week-long search near Pabrade, Lithuania.
The body of a fourth US soldier, missing for over a week, has been located in Lithuania, concluding a challenging search operation following a tragic military accident. The soldier, part of a squad conducting drills in an M88A2 Hercules armoured vehicle, disappeared near Pabrade, which is close to the border with Belarus.
Previously, the remains of three other soldiers were discovered in a peat bog on Monday, sparking extensive recovery efforts involving hundreds of personnel from the US Army, US Navy, as well as Lithuanian, Polish, and Estonian Armed Forces. "This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain... the world is darker without them," lamented Maj Gen Christopher Norrie in a statement from US Army Europe and Africa.
Lt Gen Charles Costanza characterized the circumstance as a "tragic accident," praising the international teams who united for the recovery task. Reports indicate that efforts to extract the M88A2 Hercules from the bog included the use of two additional Hercules vehicles along with bulldozers, working tirelessly "day and night" to recover the submerged equipment.
As investigations commence regarding the causes of the incident, the identities of the deceased soldiers remain undisclosed. They had been deployed under Operation Atlantic Resolve, a NATO initiative aimed at bolstering the Eastern European flank in response to escalating tensions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
