Rescue crews in the northern Lithuanian city of Panevėžys recovered a BMW car from the Nevėžis River on Saturday after it plunged into the water near the Vakarinė Street dam earlier that morning, authorities said.
According to officials, no people were found inside the vehicle when it was pulled from the dam basin using a crane.
Panevėžys county police spokeswoman Odeta Jukniūtė said initially that two bodies had been recovered. The body of a man born in 1995, believed to have been driving the car, was found about half a kilometre from the crash site. Another victim of similar apparent age was found about 1 kilometre away.
Police said the body of a third victim was found in the river at about 14:00 Saturday. The victim’s identity was initially unknown. The Fire and Rescue Department later confirmed that the search and recovery operation was completed after the third body was located.
The crash occurred at about 06:55 on Vakarinė Street, when the BMW broke through the guardrail on a bridge over the dam and fell into the river on the downstream side. Authorities said the stretch of river where the car sank is dangerous and fast-flowing, with a depth of about 3 metres. The vehicle was fully submerged.
On Sunday, the Police Department said all three victims had been identified. The crash killed the car’s owner, born in 1995, and two passengers, men born in 1994 and 2005.
Investigators are working to determine who was driving at the time of the crash. A pretrial investigation has been launched into a possible violation of traffic safety or vehicle operation rules resulting in a fatal accident.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
