Four Norwegians safe in Algeria hostage episode

OSLO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Four of the 13 Norwegians involved in the Algeria hostage crisis are relatively safe after they managed to arrive at a nearby military camp, said the Norwegian news agency NTB.

Now only nine other employees of Norwegian origin remained unaccounted for, Lars Christian Bacher, a vice president of the Norwegian oil firm Statoil, was quoted as saying.

"The situation is still unpredictable, "said Bacher.

Earlier in the day, Bacher said that there were 17 Statoil employees at the gas facility when an armed group launched an attack at 6:50 a.m. Norwegian time (0550 GMT).

Three Algerians and a Canadian, who are part of the 17 Statoil employees at the facility at the time of attack, also escaped to their safety, according to earlier reports.

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