Efforts continued overnight in the Pabradė training area in eastern Lithuania where four US soldiers have been missing since Tuesday. Their armoured vehicle has been located submerged in a swamp and operation continues to pull it out.
Crews working overnight removed some silt in an effort to reach the armoured vehicle, but a large dredger from the Inland Waterways Directorate (IWD) is being brought in as water continues to flood the site, Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said on Friday morning.
“A different type of silt suction machine was used last night. The large dredger is expected to arrive today. Some silt was removed overnight, but not enough, and water keeps rushing into the site from the nearby lake,” she told LRT RADIO.
According to Šakalienė, the silt layer is up to five meters deep. Although two to three meters were cleared overnight, murky water is still preventing visibility of the vehicle.
The minister said a longer pipe is needed on Friday to pump out the accumulating water from the pit.
“The 300-meter pipe they (the IWD) have will allow pumping the silt-water mixture far from the incident site. If not in the way we are trying to do it this morning, then we should finally break through this last silt barrier between us and the tank toward the evening,” she told LRT RADIO.
Because of the unstable ground and rising water, the submerged American recovery vehicle must be pulled out before it can be safely inspected, according to Šakalienė.
“Entering it without pulling it out poses a high risk for rescuers. At the moment, the plan is to attach cables, use pulleys, and haul it ashore with military equipment,” she said.
‘I am still hoping for a miracle’
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda visited the scene of the incident on Friday morning.
“I am still hoping for a miracle, although many sceptics would probably say that there is nothing to hope for in these circumstances, I want to hope,” the president told reporters at the Pabradė training ground.
Lithuanian and US troops and Lithuanian authorities are taking part in the large-scale rescue operation. Dozens of Polish troops with equipment are also coming to help.
All institutions are “working hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder”, the president said.
“Minutes like this, circumstances like this, perhaps only confirm how strong we are when we are together, when we are in the NATO Aaliance, when we feel the shoulder of our friends,” said Nausėda.
More US troops on the way
Kara McDonald, the US Ambassador to Lithuania who is at the scene, told journalists that more US military specialists are on their way to the scene.
“A team of army engineers arrived last night. A team of US Navy divers will arrive this afternoon. So we are bringing more capacity to the area,” the diplomat said.
McDonald said she could not provide further details on the arrival of US troops.
Missing since Tuesday
The four American soldiers aboard an M88 Hercules tracked recovery vehicle went missing during an exercise at the Pabradė training area in Švenčionys District on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the likely incident site was identified, and the vehicle was located at a depth of around five meters. It remains unclear whether the missing soldiers are inside, and all scenarios are being considered.
Lithuanian and US military police, under the supervision of prosecutors, are conducting a pre-trial investigation into the soldiers’ disappearance.
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