Rescue crews bound for crash site, officials say
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A rescue is under way after a US Marine Corps aircraft with four passengers crashed on Friday during a Nato training exercise in the mountains of northern Norway.
An MV-22B Osprey aircraft was involved in the incident, the Marine Corps said in a statement on Twitter on Friday.
The cause of the crash is being investigated, and rescue crews are inspecting the downed aircraft, according to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres of Norway.
A rescue helicopter and a Norwegian military jet joined the search and spotted the crashed Osprey.
“We’ve discovered an aircraft that has crashed. We’ve seen no sign of life,” Nordland police chief of staff Bent Eilertsen told Reuters.
Bad weather prevented rescue aircraft from landing at the crash site.
The condition of those onboard the Osprey is unknown.
The Osprey crashed amid bad weather in a rugged area, according to the Norwegian military.
Given the worsening conditions, rescue crews are attempting to reach the crash by land rather than by air.
The incident occurred during Exercise COLD RESPONSE 22, a Nato training exercise involving thousands of troops, focused on conducting operations in an arctic environment.
The craft was reported missing around 6:30 Central European Time, about 30 minutes after it was scheduled to land. It was heading north in Nordland on its way to Bodø, according to the Norwegian military.
Local volunteers and the Red Cross are assisting with the rescue.
“Norwegian civil authorities are leading the search and rescue efforts at this time,” the II Marine Expeditionary Force said in a statement. “We are grateful for their efforts and will assist them … in all manners possible.”
US military Ospreys, whose tilting rotors can either point upward like a helicopter or forward like an airplane, have been involved in multiple crashes in years past.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
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