US military plane crashes in Norway, crew of 4 dies
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A US Air Force Osprey landing at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Poland. An Osprey aircraft was reported missing during a Nato exercise in Norway on March 18, 2022.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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OSLO (AFP, REUTERS) - All four people on board a US military plane that crashed in northern Norway on Friday have died, local police said on Saturday (March 19).
The MV-22B Osprey aircraft belonging to the US Marine Corps had been taking part in the Cold Response military exercises involving 30,000 people from Nato and partner countries when it crashed in a remote region.
The plane "was reported missing at 6.26pm local time (1.26am Saturday Singapore time) south of Bodo" in northern Norway in bad weather, the regional emergency services (HRS) had said in a statement earlier. The US Marine Corps had confirmed "a mishap" involving the aircraft.
Rescue services reached the crash site by land early on Saturday after helicopters were unable to land due to poor weather conditions.
“Police reached the crash site at around 1.30am (8.30am Singapore time). It is regrettably confirmed that all four on board the plane have perished,” Ivar Bo Nilsson, head of the operation for Nordland police, said in a statement.
The four were all believed to be US nationals, police said.
Police were investigating the cause of the crash although their work was halted because of the weather conditions. The work was set to resume once the weather improves.
Cold Response 2022 aims to test how Norway would manage allied reinforcements on its soil in the event that Nato's mutual defence clause were triggered.
This week's exercises came amid high tension between Russia and Nato over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but they were planned long before that offensive began on Feb 24.
