Over 130 injuries after NATO exercise in Norway

Curiosities and celebrities: Over 20,000 soldiers from 13 countries took part in exercise Nordic Response from 3 to 14 March, which was carried out in northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

A total of 131 injuries have been reported in Norway so far as a result of the exercise, writes Nationen. Most damage to equipment, roads and livestock has been reported, and new reports of damage are still coming in, Bø says.

– I think it is a normal amount. When people have now calmed down a bit, and the snow starts to disappear, there will probably be more. At the same time, when I think about how big the exercise was, it’s probably a little smaller than normal, says Marianne Rygh Bø, environmental protection officer in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

The injuries to livestock that have been reported mainly involve reindeer, Bø says.

– Among other things, we had an incident with a helicopter that flew incorrectly, because the pilot misunderstood where they could fly. So several of the cases concern an incident. There are cases where reindeer have been scattered, or have been mixed together, says Bø.

(© NTB)