Norway attacks: Eyewitness accounts

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Sixty-eight people were killed when a gunman opened fire at an island youth camp in Norway, hours after a bomb attack killed eight people in the capital, Oslo.

Police have charged a 32-year-old Norwegian man over both attacks.

Here, survivors give their accounts of the terrifying attack on Utoeya island.

Thorbjorn Vereide

Media caption,

Thorbjorn Vereide: "We were attacked by an insane maniac who had a handgun and a rifle"

Lisa-Marie Husby

Lisa-Marie, a 19-year-old youth worker was on the island at the time of the attack. She spoke to BBC presenter, Evan Davis.

"Suddenly we heard gunshots and we didn't know what was happening," she said.

"The man with the gun was running behind us, chasing us."

Finding shelter in a cabin in the woods, she hid under a bed for three hours until the police arrived.

Emma

I thought it was someone fooling around. I saw a guy go to talk to a man in a police officer's uniform, he then got shot.

Media caption,

Eyewitness, Emma: "I could smell the gunpowder"

I saw two people shot dead.

I just ran away. We could smell the gun powder, we were so scared.

We hid from the gunman under a cliff - he was about five metres above us.

We jumped into the water and got to a boat.

I am 16-years-old and was on the island working as a youth leader. We are now in a hotel staying with everyone from the island but we are still missing people.

Stine Renate Haheim

I am a member of the Norwegian Parliament, I was taking part in the youth camp.

Media caption,

Norwegian MP Stine Renate Haheim describes the gunman's attack on Utoeya island

We gathered in small groups to talk about the bombings in Oslo. We then heard someone shout 'The police are here, we are now safe.'

I then saw a policeman coming down the hill and suddenly he started shooting people, one by one.

We ran and jumped out into the sea when we saw boats coming.

He was calm, he never ran, he just kept shooting people, I never heard him speak.

Adrian Pracon

I was working in the information booth on the island.

We were informed by radio of a bombing in Oslo, so we gathered all 700 people on the island together to tell them.

Media caption,

Adrian Pracon says he played dead to try and avoid the gunman on Utoeya

A couple of minutes later we got a phone call to say one policeman was coming on to the shore to see us.

I went to the coffee shop to get supplies for everyone. I then heard gun shots and could see people running. As they were running, they were shot in the back.

People were falling dead right in front of me.

I ran through the campus to the tent area. I saw the gunman - two people started to talk to him and two seconds later they were both shot.

He was wearing a black uniform, with red edges. He looked liked a Nazi, with his police-like uniform and hair.

The gunman was very sure, calm and controlled. He looked like he knew what he was doing. He screamed at us that we would all die.

We all started to run down to the water, people had already undressed and started swimming. I thought I didn't have enough time to take off my clothes, so I started swimming in the rain, in my clothes and big boots.

I went for about 150 metres but the lake is about 800 metres long. I realised I wouldn't make it so I turned back.

I saw him standing 10 metres from me, shooting at the people who were swimming. He aimed his machine gun at me and I screamed at him, 'No please no, don't do it'. I don't know if he listened to me but he spared me.

He came back an hour later. I was with other survivors and we were lying down and hiding behind the trees and rocks. We were freezing in our wet clothes.

The shooting started again and people were falling on top of me, on my legs and falling into the water - that's when many people died. I just had to shield myself behind them, praying he wouldn't see me. In the middle of the shooting I got a bullet in my back.

Then he came closer, I could feel his breath, I could feel his boots, I could feel the warmth of the barrel.

But I didn't move and that's what saved my life. I am now in hospital. It's not the physical pain that's the worst, it's thinking of how many of friends have died.