Four US soldiers feared dead after vanishing during Nato war drill in Lithuania
FOUR US soldiers are feared dead after they went missing during a NATO drill in Lithuania.
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The four Americans disappeared near the border with Russian ally Belarus in their vehicle, sparking a major search by Lithuanian and foreign forces.
The four servicemen, who have not been identified by authorities, were with the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.
Early reports indicate that a vehicle the servicemen were in may have fallen into a body of water.
The U.S. embassy confirmed in a social media statement on Wednesday that the four had gone missing at General Silvestras ukauskas training ground near Pabrade in eastern Lithuania.They did not confirm when they went missing.
The embassy said on X: "The soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time of the incident.
"Search and recovery efforts are underway."
Lithuania's military said in a statement they were informed on Tuesday that four U.S. soldiers and one tracked vehicle had gone missing.
They said: "A possible location of the incident has been identified and a search and rescue operation is underway."
A statement from U.S. Army Europe and Africa explained that the soldiers were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time of their disappearance.
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National Security and Defense Committee chairman Giedrimas Jeglinskas said after the soldiers were reported missing: "We truly appreciate and are grateful for the US presence here.
"We have created all the conditions for them to increase their military readiness."Such events do indeed occur during large-scale joint military exercises, not only among the Americans, but also in other armies.
"The aim is to reduce the likelihood of such things, but such things are not impossible.
"If there was some kind of accident, lessons are learned, and safety requirements are increased."