The Polish military has established a group to assist the Lithuanian Army and U.S. Army in a recovery operation for four U.S. Army soldiers who disappeared early Tuesday during a training exercise near Pabradė, Lithuania.
The soldiers, based in Fort Stewart in Georgia, were riding in an M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle on a scheduled maintenance mission to recover another U.S. Army vehicle in the training area when they disappeared, U.S. Army Europe and Africa public affairs in Wiesbaden, Germany, confirmed.
Hundreds of U.S. and Lithuanian soldiers and law enforcement, Lithuanian military helicopters and dive teams aided in the initial ground-based search through the thick forests and swampy terrain.
However, the soldiers have yet to be located, and the M88 Hercules was found submerged in a body of water inside the training area, located over a highly pressurized gas pipeline near Pabradė, a town north of the capital Vilnius.
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In an interview with Fox News Digital Thursday afternoon, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said from the moment the country learned of the incident, it had “given everything” it has, both from its armed forces and internal affairs ministry institutions, to find the soldiers.
“From helicopters with thermal vision to forces on the ground, we are continuing very intensely,” Šakalienė said.
U.S. Army Europe and Africa public affairs noted water, thick mud and soft ground around the site “have complicated recovery efforts,” requiring specialized equipment to drain water from the side and stabilize the ground.
Polish officials announced Thursday they were sending a group of troops with engineering equipment to assist.
As of Thursday afternoon, officials said land dredging equipment was on the way, and a dam was being reinforced to isolate the mud pumping area.
The pressurized gas has been removed, and it is now safe to work at the site, according to Šakalienė.
The internal water waste agency will send out a water master dredger and more than 900 feet of bulk pipe on Friday morning, and they should reach the the location by midday.
It will take several hours to install the pipeline and the dredgers. Then, they will begin making water influx with the excavator.
“The dredger pump usually pumps 80% of water, while working with 20% of mud or sludge, and the goal is to start working with the pump until the evening, so that, finally, on Saturday morning, a diver and the hydrographic team can use a multi-beam echo founder to assess the position of the vehicle, because we don’t know yet if it has overturned or what position it is in,” Šakalienė said.
A diver will attach cables, and workers will use pulleys to tow the vehicle to shore.
“Then we will be able to check if the missing soldiers are inside,” she said.
Šakalienė said it is unknown if the soldiers could have escaped the vehicle before it sank but reiterated there was “no evidence” confirming the deaths of the missing soldiers as of Thursday afternoon.
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The area surrounding the site is a forested area with swamps and bogs, similar to an environment found in Alaska. Weather conditions are also similar, making it a challenging training area for Army personnel.
“Maybe they were lost, confused, hurt or in hypothermic condition, and we haven’t found them yet,” Šakalienė said. “But we are not losing hope until the very last moment. These are strong soldiers, strong, grown men. All scenarios are possible.”
She added Lithuania, a member of NATO, considers American soldiers their own and will not leave them behind.
“We are working with them. We are friends with them, and all of our society is heartbroken watching every single moment of this rescue operation,” Šakalienė said. “I have a 24-year-old son. It’s difficult for me even to imagine what they are going through. … Let me assure you, we will do everything in our power to find them and to find the answers as soon as possible.”
SEARCH ‘ONGOING’ FOR 4 AMERICAN SOLDIERS MISSING FROM TRAINING AREA IN LITHUANIA: NATO
Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed on X a task force of several dozen Polish soldiers with heavy equipment and frogmen were “urgently” heading to Lithuania to help.
“We are responding to a request from our allies #StrongerTogether,” Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote in the post.
The country, also a member of NATO, has reportedly feared talks between Russia and Ukraine could end in a settlement that would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to threaten the region.
Lithuanian officials said they are in touch with U.S. Ambassador Kara C. McDonald and U.S. Army personnel.
“We are leveraging every available U.S. and Lithuanian asset to coordinate and provide the required resources for this effort,” U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the commanding general of 1st Armored Division, wrote in a statement.
The rescue mission has now turned into “search and recovery efforts,” according to a statement from U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the dedicated and professional efforts of our Lithuanian allies in ensuring the safety of U.S. personnel,” Taylor added. “They have worked tirelessly alongside us over the last 48 hours, and we continue to be grateful for their support.”
The U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division is keeping the soliders’ families updated on the search.
“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,” Taylor wrote. “We want everyone to know we will not stop until our soldiers are found.”
President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday he had not been briefed about the missing soldiers.
The training site is less than 6 miles from Belarus, a Russian ally since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
Lithuania, a Catholic country, will be organizing a joint prayer Sunday at its main church, the capital cathedral, and will host a mass for the missing soldiers.
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The White House and Fort Stewart did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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