US army vehicle pulled from swamp - but four soldiers still missing
Rescuers have pulled a US army vehicle from a swamp in Lithuania, but four soldiers remain unaccounted for.
Footage of the recovery efforts showed Lithuanian military personnel working alongside emergency workers to retrieve an M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle found submerged in 15ft of swamp water last Wednesday (26 March), after going missing during a training exercise.
Lithuania's defence minister Dovilė Šakalienė confirmed the vehicle had been pulled ashore at 4:40am on Monday morning, but did not comment on the status of the soldiers on board, confirming any details would be issued by the US army.
In a statement, US defence secretary Pete Hegeseth said: 'Nothing in the world of soldiering is routine, it all comes with dangers and with risks.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
5 days ago
- Wales Online
Mum hurls knife at man after he 'pinched her and asked for sex' during boozy night in
Mum hurls knife at man after he 'pinched her and asked for sex' during boozy night in Angelika Struckaja, 29, threw a knife at a man after he 'pinched her and asked her for sex' Angelika Struckaja outside Liverpool Crown Court in 2020 (Image: Liverpool Echo ) A woman threw a knife at a man after he "pinched her and asked her for sex". Angelika Struckaja threw the weapon at her drinking partner twice in the street, hitting him the leg with the knife as their night turned violent. This incident was the second time the attacker assaulted a male victim with a knife after she previously stabbed her last victim in the back. The mum of a four-year-old son was tearful after hearing that she would be freed from prison over her latest attack. The altercation happened while Struckaja was drinking with the victim, named on charge sheets as Erdzsan Sabulov, at her home in Birkdale on April 29, 2025, Liverpool Crown Court heard. The 29-year-old gave an account to a probation officer during the preparation of a pre-sentencing report in which she claimed he "pinched her and asked her for sex" then hit her, causing her to fall into a television stand, after she declined his advances. Prosecuting, Christopher Hopkins, explained how CCTV footage from across the street of her property showed him running away from her house after she asked Mr Sabulov to leave. Wearing pink clothing, Stuckaja was then seen hurling the knife at him before picking it up and throwing it towards him again. The knife was said to have hit him on the leg at one stage during the altercation. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here The CCTV video then showed Mr Sabulov taking hold of the weapon and throwing it back towards the defendant. Mr Hopkins detailed how Struckaja has a previous conviction with a "similar flavour" from 2020 for unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article in a public place. It was reported at the time that she was also spared jail on this occasion, having stabbed a man in the back, as she was due to give birth within days of her sentencing. Frances Wilmott, appearing for the prosecution during that hearing, explained that the complainant in this case "made a comment of a sexual nature" to the then 24-year-old outside the block of flats in Southport where she lived on August 22, 2019. Around five minutes after, witnesses saw her "come running out of her flat with a large kitchen knife in her hand" and lunging towards his stomach with the weapon. Struckaja continued swinging the weapon towards the man and stabbed him in his side, leaving him with a "small but deep puncture wound". At the time heavily pregnant, she was pictured on Derby Square after being handed a suspended prison sentence by a judge. The pregnant defendant celebrated with a cigarette after being spared jail (Image: Liverpool Echo ) Alongside a Lithuanian interpreter, Struckaja appeared without legal representation during Thursday's hearing. She told the court she was "worried about her child" as a result of her being away when she had been remanded in custody since her appearance before magistrates on May 1. Struckaja admitted unlawful wounding and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. Appearing via video link to HMP Styal wearing a black long sleeved top and sporting long dark hair, she was handed a two-year community order. Sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: "I am going to sentence you on the basis that what you say about the background is true. This was a dangerous weapon. This was impulsive, short lived and in excessive self-defence. It is aggravated by your record. "You have a four-year-old child, and you have been separated for the last few weeks while you have been in custody. You have accommodation. At the moment, you have not told your employer that you are in custody. You think that your employment is open to you. "If you lost your job, you would lose your accommodation and your child would lose their accommodation. You had a difficult childhood. You father was in and out of prison. Your step father was violent. The father of your son was violent to you. Article continues below "The pre-sentence report postulates that your reaction was an excessive trauma response. That is why it would be unjust to pass a prison sentence. You have a good work ethic. Your mother died last year. This was a one-off in drink. You have had a difficult time in prison. "If you breach this order, you and I will meet again and I will have to send you to prison. Make sure that you keep out of trouble." Struckaja began crying as she was told her fate, replying "yes, I agree". She was also told to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days and a programme requirement.
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Mum avoids jail after throwing knife at man who 'pinched her and asked for sex'
Mum Angelika Struckaja, 29, was freed from prison after she threw a knife twice at a man, and caught him in the leg, after he 'pinched her and asked for sex' A mum who threw a knife at a man in the street after he "pinched her and asked for sex" has avoided prison. Angelika Struckaja, 29, had been with a companion at the time, and launched the blade as their drinking session broke out into violence. The mum had told a probation officer that the man hit her, causing her to fall into a TV stand, after she refused his advances for sex. Struckaja had been at her home with complainant Erdzsan Sabulov, according to charge sheets, in Birkdale on April 29. Liverpool Crown Court heard that CCTV footage from a home across the street showed the man running away from the mum's home. The video then saw Stuckaja, wearing pink clothing, going after him and throwing a knife at him. She picked up the knife from the ground and hurled it at him for a second time, Liverpool Echo reports. This weapon was said to have hit him in the leg at some point during the ordeal. The footage then shockingly showed Sabulov grabbing the knife and launching it back at the mum. Stuckaja, assisted by a Lithuanian interpreter, appeared with no legal representation but told the court she was "worried about her child" in the case that she was sent to prison. The mum had been remanded in custody since her appearance before magistrates on May 1, and appeared in court via video link. She admitted unlawful wounding and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, and was handed a suspended prison sentence. During sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: "I am going to sentence you on the basis that what you say about the background is true. This was a dangerous weapon. This was impulsive, short lived and in excessive self-defence. It is aggravated by your record." The judge added: "You had a difficult childhood. Your father was in and out of prison. Your step father was violent. The father of your son was violent to you. The pre-sentence report postulates that your reaction was an excessive trauma response. "That is why it would be unjust to pass a prison sentence. You have a good work ethic. Your mother died last year. This was a one-off in drink. You have had a difficult time in prison." The judge warned that if she breached her order, "I will have to send you to prison". The court was told Struckaja had a previous conviction for "similar behaviour" in 2020. She had been convicted of unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article in a public place after stabbed a man in the back - and also avoided jail on that occasion, as she was due to give birth within days of her sentencing. The court in this case heard he "made a comment of a sexual nature" to the then 24-year-old outside the block of flats on Scarisbrick Street in Southport where she lived on August 22, 2019. Witnesses then saw her "come running out of her flat with a large kitchen knife in her hand" five minutes later. The heavily pregnant woman left him with a "small but deep puncture wound" and she was handed a suspended prison sentence.
Belfast Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
O'Farrell family left with ‘unanswered questions' after minister's apology
The family of a Monaghan cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run crash almost 14 years ago said they still have 'unanswered' questions' following an apology from the Minister for Justice. On August 2 2011, law graduate Shane O'Farrell, 23, was cycling home when he was struck by a car in the Carrickmacross area of Co Monaghan. On Tuesday, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan announced a review into bail and suspended sentences after he apologised to the family for failures in the criminal justice system that exposed Mr O'Farrell to danger. The driver of the car, Zigimantas Gridziuska, failed to remain at the scene. The Lithuanian national had a number of previous convictions including for theft and drugs offences. The Dail heard that the day he struck Mr O'Farrell, Gridziuska should have been in jail for breaches of bail conditions that were applied to him at the time. In one instance, the late Judge John O'Hagan had told him that he would be 'going to prison' if he got in trouble again after January 11 2011. He received multiple convictions after that date, for which he lodged appeals. He was also serving a number of suspended sentences and there had been numerous warrants for his arrest which had not been executed. In addition, the Garda Drug Squad stopped the car approximately one hour before the collision and the Dail has previously heard it was observed to be in a dangerous, defective condition, but allowed to continue with Gridziuska as the driver. Gridziuska was prosecuted in February 2013 for dangerous driving causing Mr O'Farrell's death. He was acquitted of that charge by direction of the trial judge and, under the law at the time, a lesser charge of careless driving was not open to the jury. The Dail heard that he has returned to Lithuania. Mr O'Farrell's family have been calling for a public inquiry into the circumstances of his death and why Gridziuska had not been in jail. That call was supported by Fianna Fail TD Mr O'Callaghan while he was in opposition. Mr O'Callaghan, who has since become Minister for Justice, told the Dail in March that he cannot now ignore that a scoping exercise into Mr O'Farrell's death recommended that there should be no further public inquiry. Delivering an apology to the O'Farrell family in the Dail on Tuesday, he said he did not need a public inquiry to establish the facts in the case or address failings that led to the fatal incident. He acknowledged that the Dail and Seanad had previously voted to support an inquiry, but added that he did not need one to confront those failings or issue the apology. Mr O'Callaghan said Mr O'Farrell had his 'whole life ahead of him' and that his 'loss was incalculable'. He said he could not alleviate the pain felt by the family and added: 'It is incumbent on me as Minister for Justice to apologise to Shane O'Farrell and the O'Farrell family for the fact that the criminal justice system did not protect him as it should have.' Mr O'Callaghan announced a range of reforms including a review of bail laws and suspended sentences, as well as an amendment to road traffic laws to allow juries to consider a lesser charge of careless driving in instances where a trial judge has directed the acquittal of a person on dangerous driving. 'The legitimate questions that the O'Farrell family have asked are why the persistent breaches of bail conditions by Gridziuska, through the commission of further offences, did not trigger a response under our criminal justice code, and why were consecutive sentences not imposed in respect of the offences he committed whilst on bail, and why warrants that were issued were not executed.' He added: 'The broader question that needs to be answered is how our criminal justice system should respond to a recidivist offender who persistently breaks summary laws and whether, even if the theft offences had been brought back to the attention of Judge O'Hagan, the Judge would have had the jurisdiction through statutory power to remand Gridziuska in custody.' The minister also announced plans to memorialise Mr O'Farrell with a Department of Justice-funded scholarship that will be awarded to a student who distinguishes him or herself in the Masters in Law degree at University College Dublin every year. In a statement, the family said it welcomes the 'long overdue State apology' for the 'catalogue of systemic failures' that led to his death. His sister Gemma O'Farrell said: 'Today's State apology is significant, and a solemn recognition of the systemic failure that 'exposed Shane to a threat to which he should not have been exposed' and which cost him his life.' Speaking to reporters outside Leinster House, Shane's sister Hannah said the family is still left with 'unanswered questions' about the circumstances around how Gridziuska was at large at time of the incident. Shane's mother Lucia O'Farrell said they are still seeking the publication of reports into the matter by the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission which have been refused to them, as well as a file on Gridziuska with the Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service. She said: 'Our child lies in a grave – we should be given the answers. 'An apology, yes, it goes so far but we do need answers to our questions – and that doesn't have to be through a long process of an inquiry.' Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the apology was a vindication of the 'courageous and relentless pursuit of truth and justice' by the O'Farrell family. However, Ms McDonald said no answers had been provided to 'credible allegations' that Gridziuska 'had been operating as a garda informer'. She also said that the 'bereft family' had been 'forced to battle for more than a decade against a State and a system that should have their backs'. Ms McDonald said: 'This person was routinely able to flout bail, court orders and custodial sentences. 'He hit and killed a young man with his car – at a time when he should have been in jail. 'The big unanswered question is this: why he was at liberty on the night that he fatally struck Shane with this car?' Prior to the apology, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris also acknowledged the deep pain, trauma and sense of loss suffered by the family and commended their bravery.
