US military plane with 4 people onboard crashes in Northern Norway: Rescue Center

Washington [US], March 19 (ANI/Sputnik)

A US military plane with four people onboard has crashed in northern Norway, the Norwegian rescue centre said.

The United States is aware of an American military aircraft that had a mishap in Norway and is currently assessing the incident, a US Marine Corps spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik. Earlier, the Norwegian rescue centre said a search operation was underway after a US military plane carrying out a training mission with four people on board disappeared south of Bodo.

"II Marine Expeditionary Force [MEF] is aware of a mishap involving a US Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey assigned to II MEF in Norway on March 18, 2022," the spokesperson said on Friday. "The incident is currently being assessed."

The US military is assisting Norwegian authorities in its search and rescue operations, the spokesperson said.

The US Marine Corps representative also said the Osprey aircraft was taking part in a NATO military drill called Exercise Cold Response 2022.

Norwegian authorities said earlier in the day that rescuers failed to reach the suspected site because of the bad weather conditions, which they said are expected to worsen.