U.S. Marines Dead After Osprey Crash in Norway During NATO Training
Four U.S. Marines lost their lives after their MV-22 Osprey Aircraft crashed during a NATO military exercise in Norway on Friday.
“It is with great sadness we have received the message that four American soldiers died in a plane crash last night,” Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed.
It is with great sadness we have recived the message that four American soldiers died in a plane crash last night. The soldiers participated in the NATO exercise Cold Response. Our deepest sympathies go to the soldiers' families, relatives and fellow soldiers in their unit.
— Jonas Gahr Støre (@jonasgahrstore) March 19, 2022
On Saturday morning, II Marine Expeditionary Force officials shared an update on the tragedy via its Twitter account.
Update:
4 Marines assigned to 2d Marine Aircraft Wing, are listed in Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown following a training incident in support of Exercise Cold Response 2022 on the evening of March 18, 2022. pic.twitter.com/ZzYkQL2ZWS
— II MEF (@iimefmarines) March 19, 2022
“4 Marines assigned to 2d Marine Aircraft Wing, are listed in Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown following a training incident in support of Exercise Cold Response 2022 on the evening of March 18, 2022,” the statement read. They added that “the incident is currently under investigation by both Norwegian and U.S. organizations.”
According to a statement from U.S. Marines via its Twitter account, “the aircraft was conducting training in Norway as part of Exercise COLD RESPONSE 22 at the time of the incident.”
We can confirm an incident has occurred involving a Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft.
The aircraft was conducting training in Norway as part of Exercise COLD RESPONSE 22 at the time of the incident.
— U.S. Marines (@USMC) March 18, 2022
The officials from II Marine Expeditionary Force also added in a press release that as a matter of policy, service members’ identities will not be released until 24 hours after all “next-of-kin notifications have been completed.”