U.S. Navy divers have successfully attached two lines to hoist points on a sinking M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle that was carrying four U.S. Army soldiers who disappeared early Tuesday during a training exercise near Pabradė, Lithuania.
The soldiers, based in Fort Stewart in Georgia, were riding in the vehicle on a scheduled maintenance mission to recover another U.S. Army vehicle in the training area when they disappeared.
After the second line was attached to a hoist point on the Hercules on Sunday, the Army said the vehicle could be anchored to prevent it from sinking further into the bog it was in.
“Engineers expect to start winching early this morning,” the U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in a post on X. “The process is projected to take a significant amount of time and effort, as the terrain surrounding the peat bog remains challenging – but the rescue workers will not be deterred.”
Lithuanian military and law enforcement personnel observe recovery efforts as an excavator gathers soil for a berm March 26 near Pabradė, Lithuania. Lithuanians from across the country’s national and local government have aided U.S. Army Soldiers in the search for four missing U.S. Soldiers from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and the recovery efforts of their M88 Hercules armored vehicle found submerged March 26 near the last known location of the Soldiers. (Lithuanian Armed Forces)
She added Lithuania, a member of NATO, considers American soldiers their own and will not leave them behind.
Despite ongoing efforts, the soldiers have yet to be located.
The U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division is keeping the soliders’ families updated on the search.
“This tragic situation weighs heavily on all of us, and we’re keeping the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers and recovery team in our thoughts and prayers,” U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the commanding general of 1st Armored Division, wrote in a statement last week. “We want everyone to know we will not stop until our soldiers are found.”
President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday he had not been briefed about the missing soldiers.
The training site is less than 6 miles from Belarus, a Russian ally since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
Lithuania, a Catholic country, organized a joint prayer Sunday at its main church, the capital cathedral, and hosted a mass for the missing soldiers.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
