Casualties as US marine plane crashes in Norway
Four US soldiers were killed in a plane crash in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle during a NATO exercise.
A US marine plane taking part in a NATO exercise has crashed in Norway, killing all four US soldiers on board.
The four-person crew was taking part in the Cold Response military exercises involving 30,000 people from NATO and partner countries, the Norwegian army said on Saturday.
A V-22B Osprey aircraft belonging to the US Marine Corps, was reported missing on Friday evening south of Bodo in northern Norway.
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At 01:30 (0030 GMT) on Saturday, "the police arrived at the scene. The police in Nordland County now confirm that the crew of four have died. As far as the police know, the four are of American nationality," it said in a statement.
The US Marine Corps earlier confirmed "a mishap" involving a MV-22B Osprey during the exercises and said Norwegian civil authorities were leading the search and rescue efforts.
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.
Tensions between Russia and NATO have soared following Moscow's attack on Ukraine, but the exercises were planned long before that offensive began on February 24.
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