Four American soldiers have gone missing in Lithuania during a training exercise, the US embassy in Vilnius announced the news on Wednesday in a social media post, thanking the Baltic country's military and police for their assistance in the search for their soldiers.
The embassy said in a social media post that the troops went missing from a training area near Pabrada, close to Lithuania's eastern border with Belarus. The soldiers were reported missing at around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday.
"The soldiers, all from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting planned tactical training at the time of the incident," the embassy statement said.
The soldiers were reportedly conducting a tactical training routine at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, which is less than six miles from the border with Belarus.
Lithuanian news outlet Delfi said the soldiers disappeared along with a tracked vehicle, a military term that usually refers to a tank or armored personnel carrier.
A few hours after the US embassy in Vilnius posted, international media reported that four American soldiers, still unidentified by authorities, were found dead very close to the border with Belarus.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces said on Wednesday they had identified a 'possible location' of the missing soldiers and their vehicle.
The military said in a statement that "a search and rescue operation is underway, led by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, with additional capabilities from the Fire and Rescue Department and other institutions . "
Local media reports say the soldiers may have been traveling in an M88 recovery vehicle, one of the largest armored vehicles used by the US military, which may have fallen into the water.
Officials have yet to reveal any details about how the soldiers or their vehicle disappeared, nor the manner of their reported deaths. (A2 Televizion)
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