A military helicopter with four Americans on board crashed in Arctic Norway during a NATO training exercise, Norwegian officials confirmed.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centers said that the MV-22B Osprey helicopter belonging to the U.S. Marine Corps was taking part in the Cold Response military exercise when it was reported missing at around 6:26 pm.
A Norwegian military Orion plane and a rescue helicopter searching the area found the aircraft at 8:17 pm.
Speaking to Reuters, Nordland police chief of staff Bent Eilertsen said: “We’ve discovered an aircraft that has crashed. We’ve seen no sign of life.
“We’ve been told it’s an American aircraft with four Americans on board.”
The U.S. Marine Corps said that the incident is still being investigated.
“We can confirm an incident has occurred involving a Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft,” U.S. Marines wrote on Twitter.
“The aircraft was conducting training in Norway as part of Exercise COLD Response 22 at the time of the incident.”
“Norwegian civil authorities are leading the search and rescue efforts at this time,” the Second Marine Expeditionary Force said in a statement.
“We are grateful for their efforts and will assist them… in all manners possible.”
Tensions are high between Russia and NATO following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, but NATO said in a statement that the training exercise was unrelated and scheduled several months in advance.
“It is not linked to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, which NATO is responding to with preventive, proportionate and non-escalatory measures,” NATO officials said.
According to reports, bad weather made it difficult for rescue aircraft to land. Police and rescue services were trying to reach the wreckage by land but it was not clear how long it could take.
“It’s dark, the weather conditions are bad and there is a risk of avalanches, Eilersten said.
The Cold Response 22 NATO exercise is held every two years to help train troops on how to operate in the Arctic.
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