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Norwegian air wreck found

March 17, 2012

The debris of a Norwegian military aircraft has been found in northern Sweden, with no indications that five crew members survived their crash. Search efforts had been hampered by poor weather conditions.

https://p.dw.com/p/14M3W
A Swedish S-76 SAR helicopter, part of the search rescue effort for a missing Norwegian C-130 Hercules aircraft
Image: Reuters

Searchers on Saturday found the wreckage of a Norwegian Hercules military aircraft, reported to have crashed earlier this week, on a glacier northwest of Sweden's highest mountain.

Although the search was underway for possible survivors, there was no information about the crew which included four men and one woman, police spokesman Hakan Alsterlind said.

Rescue service spokesman Mathias Hansson told the AP news agency that parts of the plane were found scattered over the glacier. "There are a lot of wreckage parts spread out over a large area. It suggests it was a major impact," Hansson said.

The C-130 cargo aircraft plane had been taking part in the Cold Response military exercise, hosted by Norway. It had set off from Evenes, on Norway's Arctic coast, to the Swedish city of Kiruna before disappearing from radar just before 3 p.m. local time on Thursday. 

Search efforts by rescue helicopters and military aircraft involved in the drill had been hampered by poor visibility due to low clouds, snow and strong winds.

Other countries involved in the exercise included Britain, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States.

rc/ipj (AP, dpa)