„Four US Army soldiers have gone missing during a training mission near Lithuania's border with Belarus, and a search is underway,“ CNN reported.
„A US Army vehicle was found submerged in water in Lithuania on Wednesday afternoon, and the search for the missing soldiers continues. The soldiers were travelling in an M88 tracked vehicle where they were taking part in a training exercise,“ Reuters news agency reported.
„A US army statement said the troops were taking part in planned tactical training at the time,“ the Guardian also reported.
Susiję straipsniai
„A US official said four soldiers were involved in an accident while driving a tracked vehicle. The official, who requested anonymity, could not provide further details,“ the AP news agency reported.
As Lrytas previously reported, on Wednesday morning, it was reported that three foreign soldiers had disappeared after a training exercise at the Pabradė training ground and that all services had been searching for them since Tuesday evening.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces clarified on Wednesday afternoon that a total of four US soldiers and one tracked vehicle had gone missing during the exercise.
According to Lrytas, the tracked vehicle was found in a swamp. According to Lrytas sources, the US soldiers are dead. Official sources do not confirm this information. Gintautas Ciunis, a representative of the Strategic Communications Department of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, told the ELTA news agency that there was no such information to confirm this. „There is no information to confirm this,“ he said.
The New York Times also reports that the missing US soldiers were travelling in a heavy vehicle that may have sunk in a swamp. This was revealed to them by a US military official.
The military official claims, the four soldiers were driving an M88 Tracked Recovery Vehicle, essentially a giant tractor-trailer designed to remove tanks that have broken down on the battlefield. The official said that the Americans had been sent to retrieve another heavy vehicle but were able to drive off the road and into the swamp. He said the troops could have been trapped inside the M88 after it plunged into the water.
Helicopters were scrambled after receiving the report
The Lithuanian army announced on Wednesday afternoon that a vehicle had been shot down at 16:00 on 25 March. The Lithuanian Armed Forces received a report of four US soldiers and one tracked vehicle missing during a training exercise at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė on 16 March.
On Tuesday, Lithuanian and foreign troops, as well as helicopters from the Air Force and the State Border Guard Service, were deployed to search for the missing person.
„At the moment, the possible location of the incident has been identified, and a search and rescue operation is underway, led by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, with additional support from the Fire and Rescue Department and other institutions,“ the military said. The US Embassy also announced the situation on Wednesday afternoon.
The announcement stated that the US military, together with the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian law enforcement agencies, and other services, is conducting the search for the missing.
It is stated that the missing soldiers, all from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were participating in a planned tactical exercise at the time of the incident.