Skip to main content

Video shows horror of Oslo bombing's aftermath

By the CNN Wire Staff
Emergency crews tend to victims of the bomb blast outside the Norvegian Prime Minister's office in Oslo, on July 22
Emergency crews tend to victims of the bomb blast outside the Norvegian Prime Minister's office in Oslo, on July 22
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Johan Christian Tandberg was at the scene when a bomb went off
  • He grabbed a camera and started filming
  • Tandberg says the 9/11 attacks were the first thing he thought of
  • The sounds of alarm bells and broken glass crunching underfoot punctuate the video
  • Apparent right-wing extremist Anders Breivik is charged with the bombing and mass shooting that killed 76

Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- The numbers tell a small part of the story: Eight dead in a bomb blast.

The names that police have released so far reveal a little more. Anne Lise Holter, 51. Tove Ashill Knutsen, 56. Hanna M. Orvik Endresen, 61. Kai Hauge, 32.

But a 16-minute video shot in the immediate aftermath of the explosion in Oslo, Norway, brings home the horror of what happened there on July 22 in a completely different way.

It's not so much the sight of papers fluttering out of the shattered windows of office buildings, or even the red cables sticking out of the ripped concrete pavement.

It's the sounds.

The whimpering of a woman near tears moments after the bomb blast. The constant crunch of broken glass underfoot. The urgency in the voices of passersby trying to help the wounded.

The insistent alarm bell ringing a three-second warning, pausing as if for breath, and ringing again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

And finally, the siren of a single ambulance, long after the explosion that smashed Norway's calm.

The video was shot by Johan Christian Tandberg, who was driving through a tunnel under the government building that was the target of the attack when the bomb went off.

Girl texts mother during Norway massacre
Oslo bomb's moment of impact
Norway bomb search continues
Who are the Norway victims?
RELATED TOPICS
  • Norway
  • Oslo

Authorities have charged Anders Behring Breivik, an apparent right-wing extremist with a hatred of Muslims and multi-culturalism, with setting off the bomb. He's also charged in the shooting deaths of 68 people at a Labour Party youth camp on Utoya island, where he eventually surrendered to police. His lawyer says he admits carrying out the attacks.

People all over Norway sat in front of their televisions and cried when they heard the next day how many people had died, and they are still crying, Tandberg told CNN Thursday.

What he saw when he came out of the tunnel last week "looked like a war zone," he said, adding that he immediately thought of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States.

He grabbed a camera and started filming on the spot. The resulting video shows central Oslo littered with street signs ripped out of the ground by the blast, insulation torn from buildings, and people wandering in shock.

He follows a man though a damaged building, looking for wounded people but finding only offices in complete disarray, furniture tossed around and ceiling panels hanging down.

Back on the streets, at least one person is seen with a cut on his leg, and several people cluster around another casualty. All the faces in the video are blurred.

An emergency services worker makes an urgent-sounding call into a radio. Smoke rises over a building in the near distance. Tree branches litter the ground. A woman weeps.

And the alarm bell rings. And rings. And rings.

Part of complete coverage on
Reassessing security after Norway
Colleen McEdwards talks to security expert Anthony Roman about security issues surrounding the Norway terror attack.
Girl texts mother during massacre
A Norwegian mom explains how she helped keep her daughter calm throughout the hour-long gun rampage at Utoya island.
Norway terror suspect's dad speaks out
The father of Norwegian terror suspect Andres Breivik says his son is mentally ill and should have killed himself.
Extremism threats raise concerns
Britain's prime minister calls for urgent review of far-right groups following deadly attacks in Norway.
Inside Norwegian terror spree
CNN's Anderson Cooper reports on the possible motivations of the suspect in the Norwegian terror attacks.
Norwegians overwhelmed with grief
Thousands of grieving Norwegians took part in a march and a minute of silence to honor the victims of the Oslo and Utoya attacks.
PM: 'This will change Norway'
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg talks to Nic Robertson days after a bombing and shooting rampage in Norway.
Norway 'has lost its innocence'
For Norwegians still in shock from Friday's horrific attacks, there is a sense they have woken up in a country that has "lost its innocence."