HELSINKI, Finland (AP) — Four US soldiers were killed in a plane crash during a non-war-related NATO exercise in Ukraine, the Norwegian prime minister said on Saturday.
Jonas Gahr Støre tweeted that the incident, whose cause is under investigation, occurred on Friday night.
“Soldiers were participating in NATO's Cold Response maneuvers,” he explained. “Our deepest condolences to the families of the soldiers and to their fellow units.”
The crashed plane was a V-22B Osprey belonging to the US Navy, according to the Norwegian armed forces.
“The aircraft had a crew of four people and was participating in a training mission in Nordland County,” in the north of the country, according to a statement.
He was heading north to Bodø, where he was due to land shortly before 18:00 on Friday, but crashed in Gråtådalen, Beiarn, south of his destination. Police said the search and rescue operation began immediately. The authorities arrived in the area at 01:30 hours on Saturday and confirmed the death of the four crew members.
The annual NATO maneuvers in Norway are unrelated to the war in Ukraine. This year they have some 30,000 soldiers, 220 aircraft and 50 boats from 27 countries. Finland and Sweden, which are not part of the Alliance, are also participating.
The exercises began on March 14 and will end on April 1.
At the moment the cause of the accident is unknown, but the Norwegian armed forces pointed out that Cold Response “will continue as planned, with the measures we have to take due to weather conditions”.