Norway reacts to worst domestic terrorism incident in its history
Norway’s tourist internet site was promoting the country (“Find your fjord or arctic destination”) and much of the country was in mourning, but what about the impact of the laughing rifleman who carried out the worst domestic terrorism incident in that country’s history?
What it could mean for tourism was still undetermined.
So far, only one travel company has altered its plans in the wake of the attacks, Costa Crociere, which had a ship set for Oslo diverted to another port.
Some tour operators worried the incident would mar the safe reputation of the country.
“If we didn’t feel it was safe to travel there, we wouldn’t send anyone there,” said Ekebrand. Kim Toso, a sales assistant at Brekke Tours, a Scandinavian tour company.
Companies reported no immediate cancellations.
Cruise line Hurtigruten, a prominent player in the area, says it is too early to comment on the future impact, if any.
Norwegian officials said a right-wing Christian extremist set off a large bomb that killed seven people at a government center in Oslo, Norway. Visitors who were in hotels near the bombing said they felt the impact and could see smoke rising from the area.
The extremist then proceeded to shoot at a number of people with the death toll approaching 100 at a summer camp on a nearby island called Utoya, where hundreds had gathered to meet with government officials.
Most of the youngsters were between 15 and 20 years old. In a massacre lasting almost an hour, the police uniformed gunman managed to kill scores of people—shooting teenagers in the back as they ran from him, or executing people in the water, as they desperately tried to escape by swimming away.
According to the news reports, after setting off a car bomb in central Oslo that killed several people and severely damaged government buildings, Anders Behring Breivik drove to Utøya to perform one of the bloodiest assassinations in history.
Counting the number of deaths, the shooting at Utøya far exceeded Columbine High School and Virginia Tech, combined.
“We are burying teenagers who cared about the world, who wanted to make it a better place. These were future politicians, perhaps a prime minister among them, killed by a young Christian man who had his vision of the world he wanted to live in—a place with tighter borders and less contact with the outside world,” wrote Geir Terje Ruud, editor-in-chief of the Danish daily Ekstra Bladet.
By David Wilkening
David
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