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Four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing during a training exercise in Lithuania have died, according to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
“Whilst I was speaking the news came out about four American soldiers who were killed in an incident in Lithuania,” Rutte told reporters in Warsaw on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
“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,” he added.
The Independent has contacted the Army for comment.
U.S. officials announced a search was underway for the service members earlier in the day.
The soldiers were taking part in scheduled tactical training outside the capital of Vilnius, according to the military.
The military said in a statement the soldiers were part of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.
The Lithuanian military previously announced it was searching for the soldiers, tracking a vehicle that went missing on Tuesday.
The four soldiers and a vehicle were reported missing Tuesday during an exercise in Pabradė, a town near the Belarusian border, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported, according to The Washington Post.
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The soldiers may have been trapped in an M88 Recovery Vehicle (pictured left) that sunk during a training exercise. (AFP via Getty Images)
The soldiers were in a military-issue M88 recovery vehicle during the disappearance, a U.S. Army official in Europe told The New York Times.
They were driving through the training area to retrieve another heavy vehicle and may have driven off the road into a swamp, where they may have been trapped inside when truck submerged, the official said.
The incident took place at a time of heightened tensions in Eastern Europe. Lithuania is a NATO member and ally of nearby Ukraine, while Belarus is aligned with Russia.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.