Rescue teams searching for four missing US Army soldiers in Lithuania are battling swampy terrain and dangerous conditions, as efforts focus on recovering their submerged armored vehicle, military sources have reported.
The search, now in its third day, is centered near the city of Pabrade, just six miles from the Belarusian border. Engineers have been working tirelessly to construct dirt and sand barriers to help drain the waterlogged area and provide access to the vehicle, according to The Post.
“Due to the terrain, this is an incredibly complex engineering effort,” said Maj. Robin Bruce, 1st Armored Division Engineer.
“The team on the ground is working to remove enough water and mud for rescue teams to safely reach, stabilize, and access the vehicle."
Bruce added that both Lithuanian and US Army engineers are involved in pumping water, excavating mud, and reinforcing the surrounding area to support the heavy machinery required for the recovery.
To aid the mission, engineers have been constructing berms—barriers made from locally sourced dirt and sand—to help divert water so it can be dredged.
“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,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division.
“We want everyone to know, we will not stop until our Soldiers are found.”
The search intensified after NATO walked back its earlier statement on Wednesday, which had prematurely confirmed the four soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, as deceased.
The missing soldiers were last seen on Tuesday before departing on a training exercise as part of NATO war drills along the Lithuanian border. Their M88 armored recovery vehicle was discovered submerged more than five meters underwater on Wednesday morning.
International Effort Grows as Search Expands
The US Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces, and local authorities have deployed specialized equipment to drain water and stabilize the muddy ground, the US Army Public Affairs Office confirmed Thursday.
Hundreds of Lithuanian and American soldiers, along with dozens of vehicles, have been mobilized to the remote site, scanning nearby woodlands for any sign of the missing troops, according to Reuters.
“To us, their soldiers are like our soldiers,” said Lithuanian army chief Raimundas Vaiksnoras, underscoring the deep military cooperation between the two nations.
Poland has also joined the effort, deploying troops and scuba divers to assist in the search, Poland’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed in a post on X.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the dedicated and professional efforts of our Lithuanian allies in ensuring the safety of US personnel,” Maj. Gen. Taylor added.
“They have worked tirelessly alongside us over the last 48 hours, and we continue to be grateful for their support.”
