Four Soldiers and a Tank Lost possibly dead Lithuania

[mk378]

The vehicle and three confirmed dead were successfully removed from the bog today. Searches continue for the fourth crew member who is still listed as missing.

https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/Newsroom/Soldiers-in-Lithuania/

 

[Kira]

It looks as if the soil in the immediate radius could pour back into any excavation.

What's the topography beneath this fluid top matter? I assume it's all decaying vegetation and moss flooded with water.

How thick must this layer be to swallow a tank? Could the tank have rolled off an "under-bog ledge"?

If the particular spot is spring fed, the mush layer could be as deep as a mountain pond. It would match the effect of quicksand.

 

[goblin]

As mentioned earlier, they sank 15ft deep and kept sinking during recovery work.

 

[KrisZ]

The vehicle and three confirmed dead were successfully removed from the bog today. Searches continue for the fourth crew member who is still listed as missing.

https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/Newsroom/Soldiers-in-Lithuania/

Very sad, I was hoping they at least got the chance to escape the vehicle.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Such a sad story. Truly feel sorry for the familes and friends. Especially any young children they may have left behind.

 

[Hall]

Could the tank have rolled off an "under-bog ledge"?

It almost seems like it could be something like that and it gave the crew no time to react (to escape).

 

[Astro14]

The spring thaw is called "mud season" there. It is very difficult to use any vehicle off roads until the ground dries out or freezes hard again.

I’m familiar with Mud Season - it’s a Vermont thing and the depth of the mud can be deceiving. It’s far worse than people imagine. Vermont has a higher percentage of people living on dirt roads than any other state, so mud season is a commonly experienced phenomenon.

I tore the sidewall of a BFG All Terrain T/A and bottomed out a lifted 4 Runner driving up the road to my house. That’s a road, not off road.

Here is what happens - the ground freezes from top down, and it gets frozen to about 4 feet of depth in the heart of winter. Come spring, the road melts from the top down, and that layer of ice underneath creates an impermeable layer that holds the water in the road itself. It turns to soup.

You can get mud that is several feet deep.

On a road.

Off road where the surface was not prepared/graveled/graded like the road? All bets are off.

That said, this looks more like a bog than a mud season phenomenon.

 

[Ranger83]

is there a link that says they died?
all I see are links commenting someone said they heard they died.

“The soldiers, all assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. They were identified as Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Illinois; Staff Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam; and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan.”

https://www.military.com/daily-news...p-when-their-vehicle-sank-are-identified.html