Prime Minister Erna Solberg spent Saturday in the small town of Årdal, the point of departure for the bus that became the scene of a triple murder on November 4. Solberg laid down flowers and lit candles in respect of the victims, and conducted meetings with rescue workers and officials who were involved in the tragedy and its aftermath.
“It’s important to me to be here, ” Solberg told reporters. “It’s also important to get first-hand information on what actually happened and how the incident was handled.”
Solberg heard complaints about the emergency communications network (Nødnettet) which is supposed to be key to coordination of large rescue operations.
“But in Norway’s mountain areas the network coverage is poor, and in critical periods the rescue crews were unable to communicate with the control center,” Solberg said.
She also met with officials and residents at Årdal’s asylum center, which had hosted the 30-year old South Sudanese man who is suspected of fataly stabbing a bus driver and two passengers.
“I asked whether they had experienced anything unpleasant from the Årdal community, but they hadn’t,” she said.
“It’s incredibly important that none other than the culprit gets the blame”.
newsinenglish.no staff
