March 28 (UPI) — Lithuania’s President visited the site Friday where a M88 Hercules military vehicle was found submerged in a muddy forest bog, but four U.S. troops remain missing as crews work to get the vehicle out.
“Although many skeptics would probably say that there is nothing to hope for in these circumstances, I want to hope. I am still hoping for a miracle,” President Gitanas Nauseda said.
The four American soldiers disappeared during a training exercise Tuesday near Lithuania’s border with Belarus. Poland has sent military engineers to help Lithuanian rescue teams get the vehicle out.
“Most likely, the M88 drove into the swamp,” and that it “may have just gone diagonally to the bottom,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told ABC News.
The defense minister said the search had become a complicated recovery mission.
The saturated swampy ground can’t support the weight of heavy recovery vehicles, so military engineers are working to overcome that challenge as water is drained and pumped from the site. Earthen berms are being built to contain the removed water.
The U.S. Army said in statement Friday that “A large capacity slurry pump, cranes, more than 30 tons of gravel and subject matter experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are just some of the assets that arrived on site.”
Polish Armed Forces have also provided military engineers and additional equipment.
The Army said a U.S. Navy dive team is expected to reach the site Saturday.
The missing soldiers were all from Fort Stewart, Ga., and assigned to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.