During a NATO exercise: A U.S. military plane crashes – fearing for the lives of four soldiers
According to reports, the Marine Corps plane crashed in a snowy mountainous area, and when the weather conditions are bad – rescue crews have difficulty reaching the accident area. “There are no signs of life”
A U.S. Marine Corps plane carrying four people on board crashed in northern Norway on Friday while participating in a NATO exercise several hundred kilometers from the Russian border, officials said.
Model of the plane that crashed (Photo: US Marine Corps)
The plane, MV-22B Osprey, was reported missing around 6.30pm (local time), shortly after it was scheduled to land in the northern Norwegian town of Bodo. A rescue helicopter and a Norwegian military plane went on a search, and according to local officials, forces spotted the wreckage. “We did not see any sign of life,” said Nordland Police Chief Bennett Eilertzen.
Due to the bad weather conditions, no air rescue operations were possible, so ground forces set off. “It is dark, the air conditions are bad and there is a risk of an avalanche,” Eilertzen said, and conditions are expected to worsen.
According to the Norwegian Armed Forces, the last location of the plane was in a mountainous area, south of the city of Bodo. Meanwhile, “Norwegian civilian authorities are leading the rescue search efforts”, and it is said that the United States will provide assistance “in all possible ways”.
In the statement, the Marine Corps confirmed a “incident” in which the plane was involved, although no further details were provided. “We can confirm an incident with the Marine Corps. The plane was training in Norway as part of an exercise. The cause of the incident is under investigation, more details will be provided later,” said Major Jim Stanger, a spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps.
As mentioned, the crash occurred during a NATO-led exercise called “Cold Response”, in which about 30,000 soldiers took part, including thousands of Marines and sailors. The exercise took place a little over 300 kilometers from the Norwegian-Russian border.
(Photo: US Marine Corps)
Earlier this month, NATO released a press release describing the exercise as “planned a long time ago, bringing together thousands of NATO allies and partners, testing the ability to work in cold weather conditions across Norway – on land, air and sea”.
The military alliance noted that the exercise was announced more than eight months before it began, so it is “not related to Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” although it was designed to ensure “that our armed forces are ready to respond to any threat or crisis.”
But at the same time, NATO forces are on heightened alert in the wake of the war in Eastern Europe, with US forces playing a key role.
While Norway is a member of NATO, its Nordic neighbors – Sweden and Finland, which also border Russia – are not members of the military alliance, but often cooperate.
Last week, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman warned Norway’s neighbors that if they became allies, they would face “serious military and political repercussions” – a similar warning issued to Ukraine before the invasion.
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