Four US Army soldiers have been feared dead after disappearing near the Belarus border following a set of Nato exercises.
The US military confirmed the disappearance on Wednesday, with American and Lithuanian officials scrambling a search team to locate the quartet.
However, local media today claimed that the four US soldiers had been found dead.
The military has since confirmed that a vehicle has been discovered after being submerged in water.
A stock image of US soldiers
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In its latest update, the US Army said: "The soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time of the incident.
"The M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle the four missing US Soldiers were operating during a training exercise, has been located in Lithuania."
No details have yet emerged about the circumstances leading to the soldiers' disappearance.
The incident took place at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, raising concerns given the training area's proximity to Belarus, a close Russian ally.
The training ground, which is around 10 kilometres away from the Belarus border, serves as an important facility for Nato forces in the region.
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ReutersDespite no official word from the US Army, Nato chief Mark Rutte appeared to confirm the four soldiers had died.
He said he had received word of the deaths of the soldiers but a Nato spokesman later clarified his comments.
"The Secretary General was referring to news reports that had just emerged," the spokesman said. "He did not confirm the death of the four US soldiers, but noted that the details remain unconfirmed."
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all Nato members with historically tense relations with Russia.
The three Baltic nations declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
A soldier, a Boeing CH-47 Chinook military transport helicopter and a Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter of the U.S. Army 12th Combat Aviation Brigade participate in the Allied Spirit 25 military exercise
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Tensions soared in the region following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has since emerged as one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters.
He has taken a strong stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces.
Belarus, which borders Lithuania, remains a key ally of Russia, with Alexander Lukashenko being seen as a Kremlin shill by many in Europe.
The proximity of the training ground to the Belarusian border adds a layer of complexity to the ongoing search operation.
Regional security concerns have intensified throughout the Baltic states since the Ukraine conflict began.
