Search for missing US soldiers in Lithuania continues as vehicle is found submerged in water

Rescue efforts continued on Thursday for four missing US soldiers near the Belarus border in Lithuania after their vehicle was found submerged in water a day earlier.

The M88 Hercules armoured vehicle was located more than five metres down, after which enough water was drained out to dig for it, according to Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė.

She said "all scenarios are still considered possible" regarding the soldiers' fate, as it could not be confirmed whether they were still inside the vehicle.

Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported that the four US soldiers and their vehicle were reported missing Tuesday afternoon during an exercise at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, a town located less than 10 kilometres from the border with Belarus.

According to Šakalienė, rescue efforts continued throughout the night, with water pumping and ground reinforcement underway to enable heavy equipment to access the site without damaging a nearby gas pipeline.

Lithuanian officials describe the search and rescue operation as highly complex with "hundreds of people" participating, including Lithuanian and US troops, various government agencies, and private companies.

US Ambassador to Lithuania Kara McDonald said "we will not rest until our troops are found", and thanked the Lithuanian government and authorities for helping in the recovery.

"Lithuania is a model ally, and we are so grateful for their help," she said.

The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all NATO members and have often had tense relations with Russia and Belarus since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.

Relations soured further when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has been one of the most outspoken European supporters of Ukraine in its effort to repel Russian forces.