Three American soldiers were officially pronounced dead on Monday after Lithuanian teams recovered the M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle they were in, which sunk in a swamp the previous week.

The update was shared as search efforts continue for a fourth soldier near Pabradė, Lithuania, as reported by U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

“Three U.S. Army soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were discovered deceased in Lithuania today, March 31. The soldiers, whose identities are currently confidential until next of kin are informed, went missing in the early hours of March 25 in their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle while on a mission to fix and tow a stranded tactical vehicle,” stated U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

“The M88A2 was removed from the peat bog early Monday morning, March 31, after a six-day-long effort that required tremendous resources from Lithuania, our steadfast ally, and hundreds of service members from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Polish Armed Forces – along with other elements from the Lithuanian government and civilian agencies – to solve the engineering challenge of recovering the 63-ton-vehicle from an area surrounded by unstable ground conditions,” it added.

U.S. Army Europe and Africa released this image late Sunday showing efforts to recover the sunken vehicle near Pabradė, Lithuania. (U.S. Army Europe and Africa)

Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė announced on Facebook earlier this morning that “The armored vehicle was pulled ashore at 4:40 a.m., the towing operation is complete, Lithuanian Military Police and U.S. investigators continue their work,” according to the Associated Press.

“The soldiers were deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, and were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia,” according to the Army.

“U.S. Navy divers assigned to Commander, Task Force 68 assisted the recovery team with finding and accessing two hoist points Sunday evening. They maneuvered through thick layers of mud, clay, and sediment with zero visibility to reach the vehicle and hook steel cables that were attached to two M88A2 Hercules,” it added. “Partway through the extraction the M88A2s began to lose traction, so several dozers were attached to provide additional grip. It took approximately two hours of winching to remove the M88A2 from the bog.

The soldiers first disappeared early Tuesday. The next day, the M88 Hercules was discovered in a peat bog and was “assessed to be around four meters below the water’s surface and encased in about two meters of mud,” U.S. Army Europe and Africa also said.

The U.S. Army vehicle was recovered on Monday, March 31. (U.S. Army Europe and Africa)

The cause of the accident remains unclear.