Three US soldiers found dead in vehicle pulled from swamp in Lithuania

AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS

The US military said the bodies of three US soldiers have been recovered from a military vehicle that was found submerged in a swamp in Lithuania, after it went missing several days earlier during a military exercise.

"The soldiers, whose identities are not being released pending notification of next of kin, disappeared in the early hours of March 25 in their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle while conducting a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle," the US Army Europe and Africa Command said in a statement on March 31.

The armored vehicle was pulled out earlier on March 31, six days after a rescue operation was launched at the Pabrada military training ground near Lithuania's border with Belarus.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the search for the fourth U.S. soldier who was part of the group was continuing.

The U.S. Army Europe and Africa said the soldiers were deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve and were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart in the U.S. state of Georgia.

"...the search is not over until everyone is home. Words cannot express our gratitude to those who are still working around the clock on this extensive search and rescue effort and your unwavering commitment to not rest until everyone is found," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Noriega.

Hundreds of Lithuanian, Polish and American colleagues and dozens of vehicles were involved in the search for the missing vehicle and the U.S. soldiers.

Lithuania, a member of NATO and the European Union, hosts more than 1,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Baltic country on a rotational basis.

Several conflicting claims emerged in the early hours of the rescue operation, including comments by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that four American soldiers were dead.

A NATO spokeswoman later denied those comments.

The US military and Lithuanian authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.