A US Navy dive team has joined a group of Polish engineers to aid the search for four missing US soldiers in Lithuania. The divers, who flew in from Spain, will focus on finding lift points on the M88A2 armored recovery vehicle and using specialized equipment to navigate the challenging terrain.
The vehicle was found submerged under 15 feet of water, clay-like mud, and silt. Recovery efforts will involve removing water and mud from the area, shore up the ground around the site, and prepare it for dive operations. The operation is expected to be long and difficult, but officials say they will use every available resource to find the missing soldiers.
The US Army had reported that the missing soldiers were operating a 70-ton armored vehicle when it was found submerged in a boggy area connected to a nearby lake. Polish engineers and recovery experts have brought their own equipment, including vehicles, fuel, and tracked recovery vehicles, to support the operation.
US officials say they will not rest until the missing soldiers are found. The search is ongoing, with US Navy divers using specialized equipment such as the Defender submersible remotely operated vehicle and the Artemis Handheld Sona to survey the site.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lithuania-missing-soldiers-dive-team-engineers