Hundreds of troops and emergency workers are racing to find four US soldiers who went missing during a training mission near Lithuania's border with Belarus, the US Army said, after their armoured vehicle was found submerged in a body of water.
The soldiers were reported missing in a training area near the city of Pabrade on Tuesday, the Lithuanian Armed Forces said in a statement.
Members of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division had been carrying out a mission to recover another US vehicle in a scheduled training session, according to the US Army.
US soldiers US soldiers and Lithuanian troops in the search area in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) (AP)
US and Lithuanian soldiers, law enforcement officials, and Lithuanian military helicopters and diving teams were part of the seismic operation, which ran through Thursday "without pause," according to the US Army.
Ground-search parties waded through thick forests and swampy terrain, which "complicated recovery efforts."
It came after the US Army Europe and Africa confirmed that the M88 armoured vehicle operated by the soldiers was found in a training area.
"The vehicle was discovered submerged in a body of water in a training area after a search by US Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces and other Lithuanian authorities," a statement said.
"Recovery efforts are underway by US Army and Lithuanian Armed Forces and civilian agencies. Search efforts for the soldiers continue."
Recovery efforts continue for four missing US soldiers near the spot where their Hercules armoured vehicle was found submerged at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) (AP)
Emergency crews were digging into a swamp, which was drained after the vehicle was discovered about five metres down, Lithuania's Ministry of National Defence said in a post on X on Thursday.
Engineers created berms – strips of raised land – to help contain the surrounding water, which could be pumped and provide access to emergency personnel onsite to the vehicle, the US Army said.
As of Thursday, there was "no evidence or information confirming any casualties," Lithuania's Ministry of National Defence said. In a late Thursday evening update on X, the ministry said that search and rescue efforts would "continue overnight."
Asked on Wednesday by reporters if he had been briefed about the missing soldiers, US President Donald Trump said: "No, I haven't."
US Army Major-General Curtis Taylor insisted teams "will not stop" until the troops were found.
Lithuanian soldiers patrol on a road near a training range where the four American troops went missing. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) (AP)
"This tragic situation weighs heavily on all of us and we're keeping the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers and recovery team in our thoughts and prayers," the commanding general of 1st Armoured Division said.
The US has maintained a presence in Eastern Europe and the Baltic region since 2014, in an operation called "Atlantic Resolve," following Russia's invasion of Crimea.
Lithuania, a member of both NATO and the European Union, hosts hundreds of American troops, who are stationed on a rotational basis.