One meter visibility, snow and storm in the mountains – VG

STRONG WIND: According to the Red Cross crew heading to the plane that crashed last night, they experienced wind gusts of 30-40 meters per second in the mountains.

In extreme weather conditions, Red Cross crews enter the area where a US military aircraft crashed.

Published:

Four people were confirmed dead after the plane crashed.

The military aircraft, of type V-22 Osprey, crashed during a training mission in connection with the NATO Cold Response exercise.

After a rescue helicopter found the crash site in Gråtådalen in the municipality of Beiarn in Nordland, the local Red Cross crew was given the task of assisting police in the plane crash.

– It was a special night, it was a real storm. There were five of us driving to the crash site. There is one meter of visibility, snow and storm in the mountains. I guess it was a gust of 30-40 meters per second. When it blows like that, it’s hard to stand up straight, rjan Kristensen told VG.

BAD SEEING: Sometimes it was only possible to see about a meter in front of them when the crew from the Red Cross entered the mountain.

Landslide hazard and difficult areas

Kristensen is the leader of the Beiarn Red Cross, and he himself was on duty until 5:30 am on Saturday morning. A total of five scooter drivers from the Red Cross took part in the assignment.

– We drive tracks and GPS marks the route to the crash site. Then we drove back and helped the police. We drive to an area at the top of the scene and help them further down. There is a risk of landslides in the mountains, and the crash site is located in one of the most difficult to reach areas, Kristensen said.

ACCIDENT SITE: An American military plane with a crew of four crashed at Gråtådalen in Nordland on Friday afternoon.

The Red Cross leader did not want to say anything about the exact crash site.

– After we help the police in, we help the defense personnel. Guards were originally set up inside the mountain, but when they saw that the weather at high altitude was much worse than where we were driving, it was decided to move the guards a little further, Kristensen said.

The weather is still bad

The Red Cross was asked by police to be on standby until Sunday morning.

– I’m not sure if it’s possible to get to the scene before Sunday. The weather is even worse now than when we went out last night, Kristensen said.

The rescue helicopter, which was the first to locate the crash site, has reported major damage to the plane, according to police.

In a press release Saturday morning, police wrote that they reached the plane that crashed at 1.30am last night. It was confirmed that all four people on board the plane had died, according to a press release.

– Police have launched an investigation and notified AIBN. The weather in the area is so bad that further work on the scene has been completed, but police will pick it up again as soon as weather conditions permit, operations manager Ivar Bo Nilsson said in a press release.

FURTHER ACCIDENT: It was a Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey that crashed. Since the planes were used by the US military in 2007, they have been involved in 28 accidents of varying severity.

Radar contact lost

All four must be American. Police stated that the Armed Forces warned and followed up on the bereaved.

AIBN and forensic technicians from Kripos are scheduled to arrive at the scene on Saturday. The police also have an area ID group that Kripos can assist when needed.

The plane’s last known position was at Saltfjellet. And the last radar contact was at 4.20pm on a Friday afternoon.

The plane was headed north and was scheduled to land at the Air Force base in Bod at around 6pm on Friday afternoon, the Armed Forces said in a statement. pers conference.

ON DUTY: Here the Red Cross crew was on their way to the crash site in Gråtådalen on Saturday night.

– Investigator

A rescue helicopter picked up an emergency signal, according to the Armed Forces.

The cause of the accident is not yet known.

The US Navy notified VG that they were aware of the incident.

– The cause of the incident is being investigated. “We are working closely with the Norwegian authorities leading this operation,” said press contact Jacob Sugg.

The Armed Forces announced early Saturday that NATO Cold Response exercises would continue as planned following the plane crash.

Lance Heptinstall

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