Norway reeling as names of dead released

A dreadlocked teenage musician who made it onto a television talent show. A secretary who might have survived if her bicycle had not been in for repair. A gentle young man whose last phone conversation with his father broke off with the words “Dad, someone is shooting.”

All were among the 76 victims of the Norwegian bombing and island shooting massacre.

Police officially released the first four names yesterday, and Norwegian media have published the names and photos of some of the other victims.

At least some were immigrants or their descendants – the people whose presence in Norway fuelled the hatred of the ethnic Norwegian accused in the attacks.

Many of those killed were involved in the ruling Labour Party, which killer Anders Breivik rages at in his “manifesto” for allowing Muslims to immigrate to Norway.

One of the 68 victims on the island of Utoya was Gunnar Linaker, a regional secretary of the party’s youth wing, which organised the camp there.

His father, Roald, called the 23-year-old from the northern village of Bardu “a calm, big teddy bear with lots of humour and lots of love”.

A lover of the outdoors and a devoted Labour Party member, Gunnar Linaker had been to the annual Utoya camp several times and had taken leave from his political-science studies at the university in the northern city of Tromsoe to work full time in politics, his father said.

His voice weak and trembling, Roald Linaker said he was on the phone with his son when the shooting started: “He said to me: ’Dad, dad, someone is shooting,’ and then he hung up.”

That was the last he heard from his son. Gunnar Linaker was wounded and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died on Saturday. His 17-year-old sister also was at the camp but survived, Roald Linaker said.

Police identified Gunnar Linaker and three victims of the bombing: Tove Aashill Knutsen, 56, Hanna M. Orvik Endresen, 61, and Kai Hauge, 33. Officers say they are being cautious in releasing the names and are making sure families are notified and approve.

Ms Knutsen, a secretary with the electricians and information technology workers’ union, had left the office and was on her way to a subway station when the bomb exploded in Oslo’s government office quarter.

Normally she would commute on her bike, but earlier that day she had left it for repairs.

“It wasn’t finished, so this day she had to take the subway home. Tove never got home,” a friend said. “Tove was a happy girl who was well liked by us all, and it feels unreal that she is no longer with us.”

Mr Hauge owned a central Oslo bar and restaurant now closed. A flower arrangement outside included notes from friends and a photo of him. A note beside the locked front door, hand-written in black marker, read: “Closed due to death.”

The national newspaper Dagbladet posted the names and photos of 30 people it said were killed in the attacks or missing. The information, apparently received from friends or relatives, showed three victims who did not appear to be ethnic Norwegians, including Ismail Haji Ahmed, who had recently appeared on the “Norway’s Talents” television show. Another, reported as missing, was a 20-year-old Iraqi, Jamil Rafal Yasin.

Meanwhile police detonated explosives discovered at Breivik’s farm about 100 miles north of Oslo.

Breivik said in his manifesto that he had rented the farm and created a fake business there as cover for ordering six metric tons of fertiliser – an integral component of the Oslo bomb.