World

Youth stream back to summer camp on Utoya island 4 years after Norway massacre that killed 69

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Young people arrive to camp at Utoya Island in Norway, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015. Four years ago a right-wing extremist gunned down 69 people, shattering the tranquility on the idyllic Norwegian island of Utoya after killing eight in a bomb blast at government buildings in the center of the capital Oslo. This week, a flood of newcomers will be arriving on the island as the Labor Party's youth camp opens for the first time since the massacre on July 22, 2011. (Vegard Wivestad Grott/NTB Scanpix via AP) NORWAY OUT (The Associated Press)

Young people arrive to camp at Utoya Island in Norway, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015. Four years ago a right-wing extremist gunned down 69 people, shattering the tranquility on the idyllic Norwegian island of Utoya after killing eight in a bomb blast at government buildings in the center of the capital Oslo. This week, a flood of newcomers will be arriving on the island as the Labor Party's youth camp opens for the first time since the massacre on July 22, 2011. (Vegard Wivestad Grott/NTB Scanpix via AP) NORWAY OUT (The Associated Press)

Police stand guard in front of Utoya Island in Norway, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015. Four years ago a right-wing extremist gunned down 69 people, shattering the tranquility on the idyllic Norwegian island of Utoya after killing eight in a bomb blast at government buildings in the center of the capital Oslo. This week, a flood of newcomers will be arriving on the island as the Labor Party's youth camp opens for the first time since the massacre on July 22, 2011. (Vegard Wivestad Grott/NTB Scanpix via AP) NORWAY OUT (The Associated Press)

Hundreds of political youth are joining a summer camp on Utoya for the first time since a right-wing extremist killed 69 people in a murderous rampage on the Norwegian island four years ago.

Survivor Sverre Outhouse says he's "been through a lot" since he lost close friends in the horrific attack on July 22, 2011, but that it was time to return and have a "great time" with friends.

The murderous rampage of the self-styled "militant nationalist" Anders Behring Breivik traumatized the small Scandinavian nation, with about one in four people affected through connections with family, friends or acquaintances of the victims.

More than 1,000 youth have enrolled for a weekend of political seminars and social activities, organized by the left-wing Labour Party's youth wing that owns the island.