Submerged US Tank Recovered in Lithuania, Fate of Missing Soldiers Still Unknown

The M88 Hercules tank was retrieved after a week-long multinational effort, but the status of the four US soldiers remains unresolved.

The M88 Hercules tank, which sank during a NATO training exercise near Pabrade, Lithuania, has been successfully recovered from a swamp early Monday morning.
Four US soldiers have been missing since the tank became submerged on March 25, but it remains unclear if they were inside the vehicle at the time of recovery.
The recovery operation involved hundreds of personnel from Lithuanian, Polish, and NATO forces, using specialized equipment to stabilize the swampy terrain and extract the 70-ton vehicle from nearly five meters of mud and water.
Speculation continues about the cause of the incident, including a possible navigation system defect, though no official explanation has been confirmed.
Public and institutional solidarity has been strong, with a prayer service held in Vilnius, while investigations by US and Lithuanian authorities are ongoing.