WASHINGTON – A US military plane crashed this Friday in northern Norway while participating in NATO military exercises, the US Marine Corps reported.
The crashed ship is a V-22 Osprey, a versatile and high-speed model that was created by the American aeronautical group Boeing and Bell Helicopter Textron, explained the Marines in a statement.
The US Marine Corps has not revealed if there were people on board and if there are any victims; but, according to the American network CBS, which quotes the Norwegian Armed Forces, there were four people on board the aircraft when it crashed.
According to CBS, there was bad weather and the plane lost height in an area with rugged terrain and narrow valleys.
Norwegian authorities are leading the search operation and the exact cause of the accident is being investigated, the Marines added in their statement.
The aircraft was participating in NATO’s “Cold Response 2022” military exercises, which began this month and bring together 30,000 troops of 27 European and North American countries.
The objective is to train in extreme cold conditions on land, sea and air, explains the Atlantic Alliance on its website.
NATO also specifies in its w eb that these military exercises were announced eight months ago and are not linked to Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.