Man Sets Himself On Fire Near Breivik Court

A man has set himself on fire outside the court where Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik is on trial over the deaths of 77 people.

Witnesses saw the man outside the main entrance of the court pouring two bottles of flammable liquid over his body.

He then ran towards a temporary security tent erected outside the court building with his head and leather jacket on fire.

He shouted "shoot me" repeatedly to the armed police and appeared more interested in getting their attention than entering the court building.

Police quickly brought him to the ground and tore off his burning clothes. They asked passers-by for water bottles to extinguish the flames.

"We put out the fire and administrated first aid before he was taken to hospital," police officer Kjell Jan Kverme told Sky News just after the incident.

Police say the man is a Norwegian citizen in his forties with no link to the trial. They believe he acted alone. His injuries are serious, but not life threatening.

A local solicitor said she was contacted by the man just before he set fire to himself.

He smelt of paraffin and wanted to hand in some of his papers relating to the social services and unemployment.

It happened on a day of gripping testimony from several survivors of Breivik's attack on the island of Utoya, which claimed the lives of 69 people.

Ina Rangones, 22, stunned the courtroom as she described her escape from Breivik after suffering gunshot wounds last July.

"I got shot in my face, both forearms and left breast. Then I ran," she said.

"I remember the feeling of being shot. I thought my hands were shot off as I couldn't feel anything."

Shot through the jaw she "tasted blood and the bullet", she said.

Ms Rangones, who now hides facial scars under make-up, added: "I thought to myself, 'So this is how it is to die.'"

After the massacre she was transferred by boat from Utoya to the mainland and en route told a friend not to look at her awful injuries.

But her friend said: "No, you are beautiful."

Marta-Johanne Svendsen, 17, also recounted how the mass killer shot her in the arm while she was in a tented area.

"It was like being hit by a bat," Ms Svendsen said, while avoiding eye contact with Breivik.

Running away from the scene, she hid under a bed in the school house until she was eventually rescued and given first aid.

"I saw a dead person in the water when I was rescued. There were at least 10 dead bodies on the mainland," she said.

A 32-year-old volunteer first aid worker, Even Andre, unwittingly arrived at Utoya on the same barge journey as Breivik.

Mr Andre told the court how he got people to barricade the old school house on the island as Breivik stalked outside.

The killer was finally arrested just 50 yards from the building after Mr Andre, who volunteered annually at the youth camp, helped 47 people survive.

After the lunch break, an 18-year-old student who does not want to be identified, told the court of his escape by swimming from the island.

"I heard shots being fired when I swam. I put my ears underwater not to hear them," he said.

A friend of the boy's drowned in the chilly water as they made their escape, and now the student admits to guilt over the death.

The witness cried as he talked about his friend, while Breivik watched without showing any emotion.

Their testimony follows Monday's chilling accounts by five survivors of the massacre on Utoya island on July 22 where 69 of Breivik's 77 victims died.

Marius Hoft, 18, told the court how he clung to a cliff on Utoya for hours to avoid being shot by Breivik.

"I started crying, but decided to wait with the tears until I was in safety. I decided to stay alive," he said.

Before embarking on his shooting rampage, Breivik bombed the Government building that houses the Prime Minister's offices in Oslo, killing eight people.

Breivik, 33, has been charged with committing "acts of terror" but although he admits he carried out the attacks, he refuses to plead guilty, insisting they were "cruel but necessary".

:: See a timeline of Breivik's trial