Lithuanian firefighters rescued two migrants from a swamp in the Vilkaviškis district near the Polish border on Tuesday night, while two others were later found in a nearby forest.
According to the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (VSAT), the individuals pulled from the water have been discharged from the hospital. All four are currently in custody and will be transferred to a registration centre for foreigners.
The Fire and Rescue Department reported receiving a distress call at approximately 01:50 local time on Tuesday.
Marijampolė county police said the individuals in distress initially reached the Emergency Response Centre but were connected to Polish emergency services, as the border is less than a kilometre from the site. Polish officials then relayed the alert to their Lithuanian counterparts.
Upon arrival, rescuers and police found one person on the edge of the swamp, while another was trapped in the water about 20–30 metres from the shore. The individual was pulled to safety using ropes and available equipment.
Police were initially unable to identify the men, but suspected they were irregular migrants attempting to cross the Lithuanian-Polish border. Both were handed over to paramedics and hospitalised.
The men later identified themselves to border guards as Somali citizens. It is suspected they entered the European Union illegally via the Latvian-Belarusian border before attempting to travel through Lithuania to Western Europe.
VSAT spokesperson Giedrius Misutis said both men were wet and suffering from hypothermia. If it is confirmed that they entered Lithuania from Latvia, they will be handed over to Latvian authorities.
Lithuania's border guards have reported an uptick in pushbacs in recent days after a lull over the winter months. The country faced a crisis in 2021 after the Belarusian regime opened an irregular migration corridor into the EU in response to sanctions, which were placed following the crackdown on the opposition.
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