The disappearance of a US M88 military vehicle in Lithuania and its possible cause

En las últimas horas, el Ejército de Estados Unidos se ha visto afectado por una trágica noticia ocurrida en el interior de Lituania.

The powerful armored and artillery force that Lithuania is building up in front of Russia
These are the five smallest armies in the NATO, two of them in a zone of high tension

This afternoon at 5:00 PM CET, the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Public Affairs Office (USAREUR-AF PAO) released a statement stating the following:

Four U.S. Army Soldiers are currently missing in Lithuania in a training area near Pabradė. A search is being conducted by U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian law enforcement and others. Search and recovery efforts are underway. The Soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time of the incident.

At 19:47 CET, the USAREUR-AF PAO released a new statement announcing the discovery of the missing vehicle, an M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicle:

The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle the four missing U.S. Soldiers were operating during a training exercise has been located in Lithuania. The vehicle was discovered submerged in a body of water in a training area after a search by U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces and other Lithuanian authorities. Recovery efforts are underway by U.S. Army and Lithuanian Armed Forces and civilian agencies.

Search efforts for the Soldiers continue.

The Soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time of the incident. We will provide further updates as new information becomes available.

The 3rd Inf. Div. is continuing to keep families of the Soldiers informed on the status of search efforts.

The General Raimundas Vaikšnoras, Chief of Defense of Lithuania, and the Minister of Defense of Lithuania, Dovilė Šakalienė, have displaced the General Silvester Zukauskas Training Ground, where this incident took place. Lithuanian military sources are being very cautious and have not yet confirmed whether the missing soldiers have died, as some sources have reported in recent hours. At 8:15 p.m. CET, Gitanas Nausėda, President of Lithuania, stated:

LThe search & rescue mission in Pabradė for missing US soldiers is ongoing. Until they are found — staying hopeful, standing with their families, brothers in arms, and all those out there searching.

Due to the proximity of the training ground to the Lithuanian-Belarus border, speculation has been rife this afternoon about the possible involvement of Belarusian or Russian military personnel in this incident. Based on our current knowledge, this speculation appears to be entirely unfounded. Based on the information available, the vehicle most likely fell into an ice-covered lake and sank accidentally.

The M88 is a recovery vehicle introduced in 1960, sharing elements with the M-48 and M-60 Patton tanks. It is used by 24 countries, and more than 1,500 units have been manufactured to date. The M88A2 Hercules, introduced in 1991, is the most recent variant and is used by the US Army. Its purpose is the recovery of heavy armored vehicles in the area of ​​operations and also their maintenance.

The M88A2 weighs 63.5 tons and is 8.27 meters long. For decades, this model has been used by the U.S. Army and Marines in all kinds of operations.

+ UPDATED 3/27/2025 4:48 PM: The USAREUR-AF PAO released a new statement an hour ago continuing to describe the four soldiers as "missing." Regarding the complicated recovery efforts of the M88A2 Hercules vehicle, the statement states:

The challenges presented by the water, thick mud and soft ground around the site have complicated recovery efforts and have required specialized equipment to drain water from the side and stabilize the ground.

Engineers on site are working to create berms. These berms—barriers built of dirt and sand from the nearby terrain—are designed to create a contained area from which water can be pumped and mud dredged, providing emergency personnel on site access to the vehicle.

"Due to the terrain, this is an incredibly complex engineering effort. The team on the ground is working to remove enough water and mud for rescue teams to safely reach, stabilize, and access the vehicle," said Maj. Robin Bruce, 1st Armored Division Engineer. "Lithuanian and U.S. Army engineers are currently pumping water and excavating mud from the site and making improvements to the surrounding area to support the heavy equipment needed for recovery. The team is exploring every available option to speed up this process."

This morning at 9:27 CET, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense stated:

The water level at the incident site in Pabradė has been pumped down enough to begin excavation work. Vehicle is barely detectable, its position remains unclear. Possible depth is around 5 meters. All the latest information is being promptly provided to the soldiers' families.

You can see here the photos of the rescue operations published by the USAREUR-AF PAO, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense and the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

+ UPDATED 27.3.2025 20:06h: General Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, has offered assistance to Lithuania in the search for the missing soldiers. For the moment, they remain unaccounted for.

+ UPDATED 27.3.2025 21:57h: The Lithuanian Armed Forces announced almost an hour ago: "The rescue operation in LTU Pabrade training area is intensively continuing, and a site is being prepared for specialized equipment." At the moment, there is still no news about the four missing soldiers. The Lithuanian Armed Forces have published this photo taken today at dusk showing the rescue efforts in the area:

+ UPDATED 28.3.2025 23:06h: Still no news of the missing soldiers. At 22:36 CET, USAREUR-AF announced: "U.S. Army and Lithuanian engineers are building a berm around the exterior of the pond to attempt to keep water and mud from refilling the pond as it's pumped out. Work will continue through the night to find our Soldiers." The USAREUR-AF post includes these four photos of the rescue efforts:

+ UPDATED 30.3.2025 04:38h: The soldiers are still missing. Service members from the Lithuanian Army, the Polish Army, and the US Army are working to search for them. The US Navy has sent divers from its Construction Battalions (Seabees) to carry out diving tasks in the pond. This Saturday, at 10:00 PM CET, the USAREUR-AF announced

U.S. Navy divers entered the water, but were unable to reach the vehicle. It is currently assessed to be approximately 4 meters below the water surface and encased in approximately 2 meters of mud. Water pumping and mud removal will continue overnight, and dive operations will resume tomorrow morning.
Engineers are working to source more powerful scanners to attempt to penetrate the thick mud to locate the vehicle.

This Saturday, at 6:35 PM CET, a href="https://x.com/LTU_Army/status/1906037632737386658" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the Lithuanian Armed Forces released this photo of the area:

You can see here some photos of the rescue tasks published at 01:30 CET by USAREUR-AF:

+ UPDATED 31.3.2025 03:53h: As USAREUR-AF reported yesterday Sunday at 22:37 CET, divers from the US Navy's CTF-68 have successfully connected two M88A2 Hercules hoisting cables. "Now that the second line has been shackled, the Hercules can be anchored to prevent it from sinking any further into the bog. Engineers expect to start winching early this morning. 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."

Tonight at 3:08 a.m. CET, the USAREUR-AF released these photos of Sunday's rescue efforts:

+ UPDATED 31.3.2025 16:35h: The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced the following this morning at 06:33 CET:

After six days of relentless effort in Pabradė, the armoured vehicle was finally pulled from the swamp last night.

This afternoon, at 16:12 CET, Gitanas Nausėda, President of Lithuania, has posted this message: