Rescue Effort Moves To Recovery Mode

Five Norwegian military officers are presumed dead following an accident in which the airplane they were in impacted a remote mountain peak in Sweden Thursday. Poor weather and the danger of avalanches had hindered the rescue effort.

Human remains were found at the accident site Saturday, prompting Swedish officials to call off the rescue effort. The five officers had been aboard a C-130J Hercules transport (similar aircraft pictured in file photo) which struck Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest mountain. The mountain's two peaks are 6,890 feet ASL.

Reuters reports that investigators say the airplane appears to have been traveling at a high rate of speed when it impacted the mountain. General Harald Sunde, Norway's armed forces chief, said parts of the C-130 were "strewn over a large area."

The aircraft was en route from Evenes Air Base in northern Norway to Kiruna, Sweden when the accident occurred. It was taking part in a planned military exercise called Cold Response which involves some 16,000 military personnel.

FMI: www.mil.no