- Title: NORWAY: Rescuers search for survivors of Norway killing spree
- Date: 24th July 2011
- Summary: UTOEYA, NORWAY (JULY 23, 2011) (REUTERS) ISLAND OF UTOEYA VARIOUS BODIES ON SHORES OF ISLAND UTOEYA ISLAND MORE OF BODIES RESCUERS ON SPEED BOAT RESCUERS ON ISLAND MORE OF RESCUERS SUNDVOLLEN, NORWAY (JULY 23, 2011) (REUTERS) KING HARALD V SHAKES HANDS WITH NORWEGIAN MINISTER FOR JUSTICE KNUT STORBERGET KING HARALD V AND PRINCE HAAKON GETTING INTO CARS
- Embargoed: 8th August 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Norway, Norway
- City:
- Country: Norway
- Topics: Crime,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA3JLU5WMV20FU0NFCPS9XPIEMP
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Norwegian police searched for more victims on Saturday (July 23) after a suspected right-wing zealot killed an estimated 98 people in a shooting spree and bomb attack that have traumatised a once-placid country.
The 32-year-old Norwegian named Anders Behring Breivik was arrested after Friday's (July 22) massacre of young people on a tiny forested holiday island that was hosting the annual summer camp for the youth wing of Norway's ruling Labour party.
Breivik was also charged with the bombing of Oslo's government district that killed seven people hours earlier.
Witnesses said the gunman, wearing a police uniform, went on a prolonged shooting orgy on Utoeya island northwest of Oslo, picking off his prey unchallenged as youngsters scattered in panic or jumped in the lake to swim for the mainland.
Police say they believe 98 people may be dead in the worst case scenario after the shooting and bomb attack on Oslo.
Police combed the island and the lake, even using a mini-submarine to search the water.
They were also checking media reports that some witnesses believed Breivik had an accomplice.
The suspect, tall and blond, owned an organic farming company called Breivik Geofarm, which a supply firm said he had used to buy fertiliser -- possibly to make the Oslo bomb.
It was not clear if Breivik, a gun club member according to local media, had more than one weapon or whether he had stocked ammunition on Utoeya, where police found explosives.
Initial speculation after the Oslo blast had focused on Islamist militant groups, but it appears that only Breivik -- and perhaps unidentified associates -- was involved.
Officials pointed to Breivik's far-right views.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg flew by helicopter to a hotel in the nearby town of Sundvollen where many survivors were taken for counselling and police interviews. Relatives converged on the hotel to reunite with their loved ones or to identify their dead.
Norwegian King Harald, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon also visited the hotel to comfort survivors and their families.
About 10 policemen guarded Breivik's registered address in a four-storey red brick building in west Oslo.
Oslo was quiet but tense after Friday's mid-afternoon bombing which broke the windows of the prime minister's building and damaged the finance and oil ministry buildings.
The district attacked is the heart of power in Norway. But security is not tight in a country unused to such violence and better known for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize and mediating in conflicts, including the Middle East and Sri Lanka. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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