"Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė says she
sees "positive signs" as she leads an American tracked rescue vehicle
out of the water. She also emphasizes that until bodies are found, the deaths
of the Americans are not confirmed. Gravel is currently being poured
continuously and the swamp is being drained in the area where the tracked
military vehicle sank, the Lithuanian military reports.
As the United States tracked rescue vehicle is being led out
of the swamp, gravel is being poured continuously at the scene and access is
being made, the Lithuanian military reports.
"Until the dredger arrives, intensive digging is
underway and attempts are being made to reach the sunken equipment," the
Lithuanian military statement states.
According to the minister, the military vehicle can barely
be felt with rods, its position is not visible.
The possible depth is about 5 meters.
An amphibious long-arm excavator with a boom length of 19
meters and a lifting capacity of 3 tons arrived at the scene.
“It is still unclear what condition they are in (the vehicle
with the soldiers – BNS),” Colonel Aušrius Buikus, the commander of the
operation, told reporters at the scene on Thursday.
He said that the bank is currently being secured in order to
get as close as possible with heavy equipment.
“When the exact location of the armored vehicle, the
evacuation tank, is found, and we find where we can hook it with hooks, then we
will hook it and pull it back with an analogous armored vehicle,” the colonel
explained.
“We still ask for your understanding that we cannot disclose
all the details as quickly as we would like to the public, out of respect for
the families of the soldiers. Relatives cannot find out what is happening from
the media before from the rescuers,” said D. Šakalienė.
According to her, rescue work was carried out all night:
water was pumped out, soil was consolidated so that heavy equipment could
approach without damaging the gas pipeline.
“What is very important to emphasize is (...) the swamp,
which is connected to the lake,” said the minister. “In 24 hours, a new road
was actually built so that heavy equipment could arrive. The water level was
also pumped down to the point where excavation work could begin.”
As R. Vaikšnoras noted, the situation was complicated by the
fact that a high-pressure gas pipe runs through the place where the vehicle
crashed.
“It was full of gas, and it was necessary to assess it first
and foremost by gas engineers, specialists, to shut off the gas flow, reduce
the pressure so that our heavy equipment could begin work,” said the military
commander.
The trapped tracked vehicle is about 5 meters deep,
according to Darius Antanaitis, a reserve major in the Lithuanian Armed Forces,
who commented to DELFI.lt, there is a very small chance that the soldiers are
still alive.
US Ambassador: Lithuania is an exemplary ally
The United States Ambassador to Lithuania, Kara McDonald,
says that Lithuania is an exemplary ally, helping to search for US soldiers
missing at the Pabradė training ground.
“As our Secretary of Defense said, we will not stop until
our soldiers are found. As you can see, technically this is a very complex
rescue operation,” the ambassador said. “I want to thank the Lithuanian
government, authorities and everyone who is helping in the search, their
support was extremely important and necessary, Lithuania is an exemplary ally
and we are very grateful for the help.”
She said that she came to the training ground on Thursday to
support and show solidarity with the families of the soldiers.
Dredger needs assessed, piles would “add a few days”
According to D. Šakalienė, in the near future it will be
decided whether the rescue work can be carried out in a “shorter scenario”,
with an excavator.
“We will see how the excavation works are going. When the
long-arm amphibious excavator starts digging, we will see whether we have
managed to stabilize the water inflow to the swampy area so that we can continue
the work,” the minister said.
According to her, whether a dredger is needed will be
additionally assessed.
“Private companies are actively participating and are
responding very well, there are contracts that are needed to take additional
steps,” the minister said.
If the dredger does not allow achieving a result, according
to D. Šakalienė, another scenario is digging piles into the lake, which would
additionally “add a few days to the work.”
“In the current situation, we hope that perhaps that
scenario would work out, so that we would not have to drive piles into the
lake,” D. Šakalienė noted. “It is very difficult to say the exact time in this
situation.”
According to her, “hundreds of people” are constantly
working at the scene. R. Vaikšnoras added that dozens of units of specialized
equipment were used.
“Thanks to the efforts of all services, we are at such a
point that today we hope that they will start successfully digging the peat,
that mud, and in this way we will hook up and probably know in what condition,
if we find, that vehicle,” said the commander of the army.
The soldiers were in Lithuania for two months, contact with
families is maintained
According to D. Šakalienė, constant contact is maintained
with the US diplomatic corps, political and military levels. The situation,
according to the minister, is very difficult, but the joint work and concern
“show that we are a strong team and this is very visible and appreciated”.
“The connection is constant, the
situation is sensitive, and it is very difficult for families, young people. It
is very difficult for families”, – said the minister.
To her knowledge, the missing soldiers were in Lithuania for
two months.
“The scenarios in the exercises are in complex areas, every
army wants to train where there are conditions that require certain challenges,
because then you can prepare for any scenarios”, – said D. Šakalienė.
According to R. Vaikšnoras, the
armored vehicle may not have had to go there, but he added that he did not want
to speculate.
“It is possible to speculate whether
the armored vehicle needed to go there. Maybe not, because it is a swamp, you
need to assess yourself, that is why soldiers are trained to assess themselves.
Lighter equipment could have gone”, – said the commander of the army.
"I wouldn't like to speculate
now, it's necessary, it could have been, it couldn't have been, there is a
training ground area and each commander, when organizing exercises, evaluates
the area according to the training objectives of the exercises
themselves," added R. Vaikšnoras.
He noted that the Lithuanian and American military police
are conducting a pre-trial investigation into the missing soldiers "under
the supervision of our prosecutor."
"And when we find or some other information (will come
to light - BNS), then the investigation will be requalified. (...) There are
procedures when we start and then hand them over (the case - BNS)," said
the military commander.
The incident will not affect US-Lithuanian relations
D. Šakalienė also commented to the
LRT.lt portal that this incident will not negatively affect US-Lithuanian
relations.
“The US, both at the political, diplomatic and military
levels, has truly expressed its sincere gratitude to our soldiers, our
rescuers, our officers, because as soon as we found out, we immediately and
very quickly provided very serious and comprehensive assistance,” said D.
Šakalienė.
This point of view was also supported by the Speaker of the
Seimas, Saulius Skvernelis.
“I do not think that this incident, which has occurred,
should somehow harm relations, because this is simply, unfortunately, life. I
do not want to say that it is tragic, because there are still theoretical
hopes, but such is the life of a soldier. Therefore, we must cherish and
appreciate the allies who are in Lithuania,” the head of parliament told
journalists in the Seimas on Thursday.
According to him, the exercises and the lives of soldiers
are associated with constant risk.
“This incident once again shows how
important it is for us to have that strong partnership, because people,
soldiers determined to defend Lithuania, unfortunately, got into an unfortunate
incident,” the Speaker of the Seimas said.
The highest officials of the US administration are already
aware of the incident. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on the social network
“X”
“Four of our brave soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd
Infantry Division went missing in Lithuania. They were participating in a
planned tactical exercise. We pray for their families, teammates and the entire
unit, and for everyone involved in the search operation for them. We will not
stop until our soldiers are found,” P. Hegseth announced on the social network
“X”.
The possible location of the incident was determined on
Wednesday, when a tracked armored vehicle was found in a body of water.
However, it is not yet clear whether any United States soldiers are missing.
The Lithuanian military reported that due to the great depth, the area is still
being excavated, but all rescue services are working.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced on Wednesday
evening about the American soldiers who died in Lithuania and expressed
condolences to their families, but later the NATO office apologized for the
confusion and admitted that the rescue operation is still underway.
"There is no guarantee that the soldiers are in it (in
the military vehicle - BNS). There are other scenarios being checked,"
said D. Šakalienė.
Lithuanian officials claim that the search and rescue
operation for the soldiers is very technically complex.
Lithuanian and US soldiers, various state institutions, and
private companies are participating in this operation."
Skvernelis is
participating in all Lithuanian military activities too. As soon as he will
make sure that the road to his house is secured using state’s funds, Skvernelis
will apply for the top job in NATO if NATO will still exist at that time. Roads
in Lithuania are expensive. NATO might be left without money.
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