The body of a fourth American soldier was found, a week after having disappeared in Lithuania.
The soldier was part of a team of four people who were doing military exercises in a large armored vehicle when they disappeared near the city of Pabrade.
The vehicle – a Hercules M88A2 – and the bodies of the other three soldiers were found in a peat bog on Monday.
The research effort, followed by the difficult mission to draw the vehicle outside the peat bog, involved hundreds of American army and navy rescuers, as well as the Lithuanian, Polish and Estonian armed forces, according to a statement.
“Last week was devastating. Today, our hearts support the weight of unbearable pain … The world is darker without them,” Major Gen Christopher Norrie said in a statement published by American army and Africa.
Lieutenant-general Charles Costanza described the incident as a “tragic accident” and added that he was “humiliating to look at the incredible recovery team of various orders, countries and continents come together”.
The American army is investigating what happened.
The statement did not specify where the final soldier’s body was found. The team had worked near the border with Bélarus.
The M88A2 Hercules, one of the largest military vehicles used by the American armed forces, is designed to recover damaged tanks and other vehicles on the battlefields.
Two other Hercules M88A2, as well as bulldozers were necessary to Treat the marsh flowed vehicle on MondayIn a recovery mission that saw teams work “day and night”, according to the press release.
The identities of the soldiers were selected. They had been deployed in Lithuania as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve – an answer to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
