Five soldiers missing during military exercises in Norway
Illustrative photo: Norwegian police (Getty Images)
Five soldiers failed to return from scheduled exercises in Norway’s northern Finnmark region, prompting an ongoing search operation. Authorities have deployed rescue teams and helicopters to locate the missing personnel, according to VG.
Five Norwegian soldiers went missing during a military exercise in the northern region of Finnmark after failing to return at the designated time on Thursday, October 2. They were expected to report back at 7 AM, but contact was lost during what officials described as an evasion training drill.
"This was what we call an ‘escape exercise,’ where the goal is to remain undetected," explained Vegard Finberg, spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters.
A large-scale search operation was launched, involving police, the Red Cross, the Armed Forces, and a rescue helicopter, with drones also deployed to aid the search.
In total, ten soldiers were initially reported missing. Five have since been found safe, three reached the designated meeting point on their own, while two others were located by helicopter.
Authorities noted that the soldiers had been operating in separate teams, which complicated the search efforts.
"We currently do not indicate what might have happened," said Jørgen Haukland Hansen, who leads the rescue operation. "It’s unclear whether they misunderstood the return time or something went wrong."
Related incident in Lithuania
Earlier this year, in March, four American soldiers and an armored vehicle went missing during exercises in Lithuania. Initial reports suggested fatalities, but those were later denied. The missing vehicle was eventually discovered submerged in a water body on the training ground, where US rotational forces were conducting drills.
