The NATO chief confirmed on Wednesday that four American soldiers had died during a training exercise near the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. However, NATO later clarified that the US military had not confirmed the deaths.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte initially stated that the soldiers had been "killed in an incident in Lithuania." But NATO later updated that the US military had not confirmed the deaths of the soldiers.
"The search is ongoing," NATO stated. "We regret any confusion about remarks delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports and was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown."
The US military confirmed that a vehicle carrying the soldiers was found submerged in water, but recovery efforts were still underway.
Lithuania’s Defense Ministry stated that the search for the soldiers would continue and all scenarios were being examined.
The US Army revealed that the soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division were conducting "scheduled tactical training" when the incident occurred.
Lithuania, a member of NATO and the European Union, hosts more than 1,000 American troops on a rotational basis.
*Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the deaths of US soldiers during training in Lithuania had been confirmed by the US military. It has also been updated to include NATO’s clarification that the fate of the missing is still unknown. We apologize for the error.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn, Wesley Dockery
