CRIME | 22.07.2011

Oslo stunned by deadly bomb and shooting attacks

 

Debris was strewn across the street by the blast

Seven people have died after a large blast hit Oslo, damaging the office building of the country's prime minister. In a separate incident, several fatalities have been reported in a shooting spree at a political meeting.

 

A large explosion rocked the center of the Norwegian capital Oslo on Friday, killing at least seven people.

In a separate incident, several fatalities were reported when a man opened fire at a youth meeting of the ruling Labor Party.

The city center blast caused damage to several government buildings, including the block hosting the office of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Police have confirmed they believe the explosion was caused by a bomb. 

Most windows in the 17-storey building where the premier's office is situated were shattered by the blast at about 3.30p.m. local time, with at least ten people reported to have been injured.

Many injuries are thought to have been caused by flying glass from the explosionNearby ministries were also damaged - including the oil ministry, which was on fire. Stoltenberg was not believed to have been in his office at the time, according to Norwegian news agency NTB.

Damage was also reported to the building that houses the country's largest tabloid newspaper, VG.

"I see that some windows of the VG building and the government headquarters have been broken. Some people covered with blood are lying in the street," Ingunn Andersen, a journalist with public radio NRK, was reported as saying by the news agency AFP.

Unconfirmed fatalities in shooting spree

The shooting incident took place on the island of Utoeya, on the outskirts of the capital, NRK said, with official figures yet to be released on any fatalities. One eyewitness told the broadcaster that he had seen as many as 20 bodies.

The prime minister had been scheduled to attend the youth meeting on Saturday.

The VG newspaper said a man dressed as a policeman had started shooting indiscriminately at children and young people, with victims fleeing into bushes and swimming away from the island. Police said a man had been arrested and suspected the incident was was linked to the blast in Oslo.

All roads into the city center were closed, with civilians evacuated from the area owing to fears of a further blast. Police urged members of the public to stay away from the center and to refrain from using mobile phones because of fears that networks would be overloaded.

"It is necessary to avoid big gatherings, to go back home," a policeman told journalists. "It is wise to stay at home."

Stoltenberg appeared on national television to say that all cabinet ministers in the center-left coalition government appeared to be safe.

The ruling party was holding its youth meeting on the island"This is very serious," Stoltenberg said in a phone call to the Norwegian television station TV2, adding that it remained to be seen whether the explosion was a terrorist incident.

The premier was speaking from an undisclosed location on police advice.

EU and German sympathy over blast

European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said he was "deeply shocked" by the incident. "I condemn in the strongest terms these acts of cowardice, for which there is no justification," he said.

The German government expressed sympathy with the Norwegian people through a statement by the German Foreign Office's Minister of State, Werner Hoyer.

"We have followed the events in and around Oslo in recent hours with distress and horror," said Hoyer.

"We stand firm with the Norwegian people, who are suffering one of their most difficult days, in this serious and sorrowful situation"

While the source of the blast has yet to be established, the tangled wreckage of a car was seen outside one building. Officials from the emergency services initially declined to comment on the cause.

NATO member Norway has been the target of threats of terrorism, most notably over its involvement in conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya.

Author: Richard Connor (dpa, Reuters)

Editor: Susan Houlton

 

 

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