NATO chief says 4 U.S. soldiers killed in Lithuania training incident

Four U.S. Army soldiers have died following a training incident in Lithuania, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed.

The soldiers went missing on Tuesday near the town of Pabradė during a scheduled exercise, prompting a large-scale search and recovery operation involving U.S. and Lithuanian forces.

“Whilst I was speaking, the news came out about four American soldiers who were killed in an incident in Lithuania,” Rutte told reporters on Wednesday. “This is still early news, so we do not know the details. This is really terrible news, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones.”

According to U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the soldiers—assigned to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division—were operating an M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle when they went missing in the General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area.

The vehicle was later found submerged in a body of water after a coordinated search involving the U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces, law enforcement, and civilian agencies. Recovery efforts are ongoing.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces said the alert was received on Tuesday at approximately 4:45 p.m. local time. Helicopters from the Lithuanian Air Forces and State Border Guard were deployed to assist, and the Lithuanian military continues to lead the recovery operation with support from the Fire and Rescue Department and other agencies.

The 3rd Infantry Division confirmed that families of the soldiers have been notified and are being kept updated. No further official confirmation of the soldiers’ deaths has been issued by the U.S. Department of Defense.