OSLO, Norway (Transatlantic Today) – According to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, 4 US Marines were killed after an American MV-22 Osprey plane crashed in a massive NATO military drill in Norway on Friday.
According to local officials, the aircraft crashed in Nordland, a county in northern Norway. Nordland Chief in Staff Bent Eilertsen revealed in a statement that authorities arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. local time and quickly established that the crew of four had died.
On Friday, search and rescue crews in northern Norway were seeking the missing plane. The debris of the MV-22B has been found, according to Norwegian authorities, and the 4 marines are presently designated as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown, according to the Second Marine Expeditionary Force.
According to ABC NEWS, the identities of the marines deployed to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing will be revealed 24 hours once all next-of-kin inquiries have been completed.
The aircraft was performing exercises as part of Cold Response, a massive NATO military drill that takes place every 2 years, according to Maj. Jim Stenger, a spokeswoman for the United States Marine Corps.
The event, according to Stenger, is still being investigated.
3,000 US Marines are now stationed in northern Norway as part of Cold Response 22, one of the biggest NATO operations since the conclusion of the Cold War. In total, 30,000 soldiers are taking part in this year’s drill.
The operation, which takes place every 2 years, was scheduled long before Russia’s assault on Ukraine and assists in the training of multinational NATO soldiers on how to function in the Arctic.
Northern Norway’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center and Norway’s Armed Forces both released comments on Friday indicating that they were looking for a missing Osprey plane that had failed to arrive at its destination.
The Osprey was on the way to Bodø, where it was expected to land shortly before 6 p.m. local time, when it mysteriously disappeared at 6:26 p.m. local time, with its last known location being south of Bod, according to the statement.
Climatic conditions in the region have been classified as “difficult” and are predicted to worsen. Search and rescue planes have been dispatched. Three hours later, an alleged debris field south of Bodø was discovered from the air.
Due to unfavorable weather circumstances, the investigation at the collision scene has been further halted, according to Nordland police.
