19th March, 2022
Four U.S. Marines have been confirmed killed when their Osprey aircraft crashed in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle.
The crash occurred during a NATO exercise unrelated to the Ukraine war, authorities said Saturday.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere tweeted that they died in the crash on Friday night.
The cause was under investigation, but Norwegian police reported bad weather in the area.
The Marines, assigned to 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, were taking part in a NATO exercise called Cold Response.
The U.S. says the identities of the Marines wouldn’t be immediately provided in keeping with U.S. Defense Department policy of notifying relatives.
The aircraft was an MV-22B Osprey. It “had a crew of four and was out on a training mission in Nordland County” in northern Norway, the country’s armed forces said in a statement.
It was on its way north to Bodoe, where it was scheduled to land just before 6 p.m. Friday. The Osprey crashed in Graetaedalen in Beiarn, south of Bodoe.
Police said a search and rescue mission was launched immediately. At 1:30 a.m. Saturday, the police arrived at the scene and confirmed that the crew of four had died.
The annual NATO drills in Norway are unrelated to the war in Ukraine. This year they include around 30,000 troops, 220 aircraft and 50 vessels from 27 countries. Non-NATO members Finland and Sweden are also participating.
The exercises began on March 14 and end on April 1.
The first Cold Response exercise was held in 2006, and the drills have been conducted a total of eight times over the years. They take place in southeastern, central and northern Norway.