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Tønsberg
firefighters arrived just in time to save the life
of Kurdish man left bound and gagged by three
assailants in his burning shop.
The victim, 34, is in stable condition after lying
exposed to smoke for at least half an hour in his
grocery, Exotica, in downtown Tønsberg before help
arrived at 9 pm Tuesday evening.
He was found with his arms and legs bound with
plastic strips and with cloth stuffed in his mouth.
"We had been looking for the fire for almost 20
minutes when I suddenly stumbled over the man. The
site was full of smoke and steam when I heard
something moving on the floor all the way in the
shop. First we cut off the strips, then we carried
him out to the neighboring shop. There he collapsed
and needed oxygen while we waited for an ambulance,"
said Rolf Gundersen of Vestfold emergency fire
services.
Firemen responded to an automatic alarm and put out
a fire in a pile of cardboard boxes in the shop.
Police said the man had lain at least half an hour
in the smoke.
On Tuesday night all available officers in the
Vestfold police district were involved in the
manhunt for the shopkeeper's assailants. Police said
they were investigating the incident as possible
attempted arson-murder, and that the victim had
indicated that three unknown men had attacked him.
In September 2002 Exotica was daubed with a swastika
and the target of attempted arson. The former owner
complained of a series of death threats and later
sold the business to the present owner. The 2002
investigation was eventually shelved.
Aftenposten's Norwegian reporter
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/
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