Four Norwegians safe in Algeria hostage episode

OSLO, Jan 16, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Four of the 13 Norwegians involved inthe Algeria hostage crisis are relatively safe after they managedto arrive at a nearby military camp, said the Norwegian newsagency NTB.

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

"The situation is still unpredictable, "said Bacher.

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

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