One dead, five injured in Oslo tram knifings

One person was killed and five others were wounded yesterday by a knife attacker who ran amok on a tram in Norway's capital Oslo before escaping in a stolen car, police officials said.

Random violent crime is rare in Oslo, which has half a million inhabitants.

"Three have minor injuries, two are seriously hurt, and one is dead," police officer Oddleif Sveinungsen told reporters at the scene of the attacks in the city centre.

Police said they were searching for a man dressed in a dark-blue jacket. He fled the tram after stabbing fellow passengers then pulled a driver from his car at knife-point and escaped.

The car owner was unhurt and police found the car abandoned a short distance away.

Police said they did not know what motivated the attacks.