Three of four US soldiers missing in Lithuania are found dead

Three of the four US soldiers missing in Lithuania since last week have been found dead, the US army said after rescuers recovered their armoured vehicle from a peat bog. The fourth soldier is still missing.

The Lithuanian authorities received a report on Tuesday that the soldiers went missing on an expansive training ground in the eastern city of Pabradė, near the border with Belarus. The soldiers were on a tactical training exercise when they and their vehicle were reported missing, the US army said.

“We stand in grief with the families and loved ones of these extraordinary ‘dogface soldiers’ during this unimaginable time,” said Maj Gen Christopher Norrie, 3rd infantry division commander. “But the search isn’t finished until everyone is home. Words cannot express our gratitude to those still working around the clock during these extensive search and recovery efforts and your unwavering commitment not to rest until all are found.”

The bodies of the three soldiers were recovered after a massive six-day effort by US, Polish and Lithuanian armed forces and authorities to dig the M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle out of a peat bog.

Search and rescue teams worked with heavy equipment and excavators to remove silt from the water before eventually towing the vehicle out early on Monday.

“Three US army soldiers assigned to 1st Armored brigade combat team, 3rd infantry division were found deceased in Lithuania today, 31 March,” US Army Europe and Africa’s public affairs office said in a statement. The soldiers’ identities were being “withheld pending notification of next of kin”, it added.

Hundreds of local and foreign troops and other rescue workers, including engineers and divers, were involved in the rescue operation to recover the armoured vehicle.

Lithuanian armed forces provided military helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial systems and search-and-rescue personnel. They brought in additional excavators, sluice and slurry pumps, other heavy construction equipment, technical experts and several hundred tonnes of gravel and earth to help the recovery.

US navy divers were able to manoeuvre through thick layers of mud, clay and sediment “with zero visibility” to reach the 63-tonne vehicle on Sunday evening and find two points to attach steel cables, according to the command.

The command said that during the effort to pull the vehicle out, it began to lose traction, so additional heavy bulldozers were brought in and attached to provide additional grip. The vehicle was pulled free after about two hours.

Lithuania, a Nato and EU member, hosts more than 1,000 US troops stationed on a rotational basis.

• Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report