A U.S. military aircraft that was stated to have 4 service members aboard crashed during a NATO train in Norway, officials stated Friday.
The Marine MV-22 Osprey went lacking during an excessive climate train however has since been situated. It was not clear what situation it was in, a U.S. military official stated.
Weather prevented a helicopter from touchdown on the crash website, and the situation of these aboard was not clear, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre North Norway stated.
Emergency providers had been working to ship a rescue workforce, the coordination heart stated.
The Osprey, which is a tilt-rotor aircraft, was participating in a chilly climate train and there was dangerous climate on the time of the incident, the U.S. official stated.
The II Marine Expeditionary Force stated in an announcement it was conscious of the incident, which is being assessed.
“Norwegian civil authorities are leading the search and rescue efforts at this time,” it stated. “We are grateful for their efforts and will assist them … in all manners possible.”
The aircraft was participating in “Exercise Cold Response 22,” the Marines said in a statement.
The military has described it as a Norwegian-led exercise. NATO says it was long-planned and involves thousands of troops from its allies and partners.
The exercise runs from March 14 to April 1, and it is “designed to enhance military capabilities and allied cooperation during a high-intensity warfighting scenario in a challenging Arctic environment with rugged terrain and extreme cold weather,” the Marine Corps stated.
While tensions between NATO and Russia are high due to Russia’s attack and invasion against its neighbor Ukraine, NATO says it the exercise is not related and was announced eight months ago.
“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,” the organization has stated.
Phil Helsel contributed.