The Polish military has established a group to assist the Lithuanian army and the U.S. Army in a four-person recovery operation US Army Soldiers Earlier on Tuesday, he disappeared during his training near Pabradė, Lithuania.
Soldiers based in Fort Stewart, Georgia are riding an M88 Hercules armor recovery vehicle during a scheduled maintenance mission, and when they disappear, another U.S. Army vehicle was restored in the training area, public affairs in the United States, Europe, Europe and Africa. Wiesbaden, Germanyconfirmed.
Our hundreds of Lithuanian soldiers and law enforcement, Lithuanian military helicopters and dive teams passed through thick forests and swampy terrain during the initial ground-based search.
However, the soldiers have not been found and found that M88 Hercules was submerged in a body of water within the training area, located in a highly pressurized trachea near Pabradė, a town north of the capital Vilnius.
Lithuanian engineers and U.S. Army soldiers pumped water from the swamp to restore the army M88 Hercules armored vehicle near Pabrad, Lithuania. (Lithuanian Armed Forces)
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Lithuanian Defense Minister Divier Šakalienė said in an interview with Fox News Digital Number that from the moment the country learned of the incident, it “gives everything to the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior institutions” to find the soldiers.
“From helicopters with thermal vision to ground forces, we’ve been going on,” said šakalienė.
US Army Europe and Africa Public Affairs noted that the water, thick mud and soft ground around the site “has complex restoration work,” requiring specialized equipment to drain water from the side and stabilize the ground.
Polish officials announced Thursday that they will send a team of engineering equipment to assist.
As of Thursday afternoon, officials said land dredging equipment was on the way and dams were being strengthened to isolate the ice pump area.
Pressurized gas has been removed and can now work safely on site, Šakalienė said.
Recovery work continued Thursday for four missing American soldiers in a place where their Hercules armored vehicles were found flooded within training ranges in Lithuania’s Pabradė. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
The internal water trash agency will send sailor dredgers and 900-foot bulk pipes on Friday morning, and they should arrive at their location at noon.
It will take several hours to install the pipes and dredgers. Then, they will start to use an excavator to perform the water flow.
“Driller pumps are typically pumped at 80% water while using 20% mud or sludge, with the goal of starting to use the pump until evening so that eventually, on Saturday morning, a diver and hydrological team can use the founder of the multi-beam Echo to evaluate the vehicle’s location because we don’t yet know if it has been overturned or where it is,” he said.
Lithuanian military and law enforcement officers watched recovery efforts as excavators collected soil near Pabrad, Lithuania on Wednesday, where four missing U.S. Army soldiers were searched and restored. (Lithuanian Armed Forces)
The diver will connect the cables and the workers will use pulleys to drag the vehicle to shore.
“Then we will be able to check if the missing soldiers are inside,” she said.
Šakalienė said whether the soldiers could escape before sinking, but reiterated that “no evidence” confirmed the death of the missing soldiers, which is not yet clear.
The area around the site is a forested area with swamps and marshes above it, similar to the environment found in Alaska. The weather conditions are similar, making it a challenging training area for Army personnel.
“Maybe they were lost, confused, hurt or in a low temperature state, and we haven’t found them yet,” said šakalienė. “But until the last moment we lost hope. These are powerful soldiers, strong, adults. All situations are possible.”
Soldiers walked along a road near the training range in Prabrad, Lithuania on Thursday. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
She added Lithuania, a NATO membersconsider your own soldiers and will not leave them behind.
“We are working with them. We are friends with them, and all of our society are heartbroken and watching every moment of this rescue operation,” said šakalienė. “I have a 24-year-old son. It’s hard for me to even imagine what they are going through. … Let me assure you that we will do everything we can to find them and find the answer as soon as possible.”
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Deputy Prime Minister Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed on X that a working group of dozens of Polish soldiers with heavy equipment had gone to Lithuania to help.
“We are responding to requests from our ally #strongertogether,” Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote in the post.
The country, also a member of NATO, is reportedly worried that talks between Russia and Ukraine may end with a resolution, which will threaten the region by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Thursday, American soldiers gathered in other vehicles near military and other vehicles, gathered within training range in Pabradė, Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuanian officials said they were in contact with U.S. Ambassador Kara C. McDonald and U.S. Army personnel.
“We are using every available asset in Lithuania to coordinate and provide the resources needed for this work,” General Curtis Taylor, commander of the First Armored Division, wrote in a statement.
According to a statement from the U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the rescue mission has now become a “search and recovery effort.”
“We are very grateful to the professional and professional efforts of Lithuanian allies in ensuring the safety of American personnel,” Taylor added. “They have worked tirelessly with us over the past 48 hours and we continue to thank them for their support.”
Recovery work continued Thursday for four missing American soldiers in a place where their Hercules armored vehicles were found flooded within training ranges in Lithuania’s Pabradė. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
The U.S. Army’s Third Infantry Division is keeping Soliders’ family up to date in searches.
“This tragic situation puts a lot of pressure on us all, and we keep soldiers and family, friends and teammates on the recovery team in our thoughts and prayers,” Taylor wrote. “We hope everyone knows that we won’t stop until we find our soldiers.”
President Donald Trump He told reporters on Wednesday that he did not introduce to the missing soldiers.
Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, the training site has been less than 6 miles from Belarus, a Russian ally.
Military road equipment within the training range of Prablad, Lithuania on Thursday. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
The Catholic country Lithuania will organize joint prayers on Sunday in its main church, the capital cathedral, and will hold a mass for the missing soldiers.
The White House and Fort Stewart did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press and Stephen Sorace of Fox News Digital contributed to the report.
