Recovery efforts continue at site of submerged vehicle of four missing US soldiers

US and Lithuanian personnel have continued the recovery process to find the four US soldiers reported missing in a training incident in Lithuania.

Rescue teams are digging in a peat bog near the border with Belarus to remove the M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle after the troops from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were reported missing on Tuesday afternoon.

The soldiers were on an exercise at the Pabradė Training Area in the Baltic state.

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Their vehicle was located more than five metres down after water from the swamp was drained as part of the search effort.

Hundreds of Lithuanian and US soldiers have been working at the site and nearby woodland to find the missing personnel after they were reported missing.

They were operating at the Silvestras Žukauskas training ground, which is less than six miles from the Belarusian border.

The Lithuanian defence ministry said in a statement posted on X: "Our prayers are with their families and entire unit.

"We stand united in supporting the search efforts."

The site has very specific difficulties, which include water, mud and soft ground, causing the recovery process to become complicated.

The recovery team have had to use specialised equipment to drain water from the side and stabilise the ground.

"We are leveraging every available US and Lithuanian asset to coordinate for and provide the required resources for this effort," said Major General Curtis Taylor, Commanding General US Army 1st Armoured Division.

Engineers at the site are creating berms – sand and dirt barriers built from the wider expanse that are designed to build an area from which water can be pumped and mud dredged and therefore allow emergency personnel access to the vehicle.

Major Robin Bruce, 1st Armoured Division Engineer, said: "This is an incredibly complex engineering effort.

"The team on the ground is working to remove enough water and mud for rescue teams to safely reach, stabilise, and access the vehicle.

"The team is exploring every available option to speed up this process."

He added: "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.

"We want everyone to know, we will not stop until our soldiers are found."

The soldiers' families continue to be updated on the search efforts.