The Norwegian Armed Forces said the MV-22B Osprey aircraft, assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) US military unit, with a crew of four was “on a training mission in Nordland county in northern Norway on Friday”. .
The plane was seen from a rescue helicopter, and appears to have crashed in the municipality of Bayern, Nordland’s police chief of staff, Bent Arne Eilertsson, told public broadcaster NRK on Saturday. The craft appears to have suffered “major damage,” Alterson said.
“What we’ve been told is that this is an American plane with Americans on board,” Alterson said.
The US Marine Corps said in a statement that the plane was involved in an “accident” when it was participating in NATO exercises.
“While military service is inherently hazardous in nature, the safety of our sailors, sailors, allies and partners is our top priority,” the statement said.
In the early hours of Saturday local time, rescuers had no contact with the plane, Norwegian police operations leader Alexander Sold Thofte told NRK.
Bad weather meant that search teams needed to reach the site from the ground, with rescue teams using snowmobiles to reach the scene, according to Eilertsen.
“Rain, avalanche threat, wind and darkness demand this kind of rescue operation,” Alterson said.
The Norwegian Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) said in a statement that the plane was headed for the city of Bodo, north of the Arctic Circle, at 6:26 pm local time on Friday.
The last known location of the plane was in Saltfjellet, a mountainous area in Nordland county, the statement said.
The Norwegian Security Investigation Authority and the National Criminal Investigation Service will arrive in Bodo on Saturday and begin their investigation at the city’s airport.
According to NRK, they will reach the accident site on Sunday due to bad weather.
This is a developing story.