US military aircraft with four on board crashes in Arctic Norway

A U.S. military aircraft with four people on board has crashed in northern Norway, the country's Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCC) said on Friday.

The V-22 Osprey aircraft belonging to the U.S. Marine Corps was taking part in a NATO military exercise called Cold Response when it was reported missing at 1826 CET (1726 GMT), the JRCC said.

The plane was on a training exercise and was due to land at around 1800 CET (1700 GMT). There was bad weather in the area, with conditions worsening.

"It has hit the ground," a JRCC spokesperson said.

The status of the people on board the aircraft was not known, he said.

A rescue helicopter and a Norwegian military Orion plane were searching the area and made a find from the air at 2017 GMT, the spokesperson said.

"We found it after an emergency signal was received," he said. "Because of the bad weather, we cannot get down. Police and rescue services are on their way" by land.