Lesbian couple who saved 40 kids from Norway massacre hailed as heroes

The unsung heroes of Norway massacre includes a married lesbian couple, who saved 40 children from Anders Breivik's killing spree on Utoya Island, on July 22

Hege Dalen and her partner, Toril Hansen, made repeated trips to pick up frightened and wounded youngsters from the waters around Utoya Island.

Their story, however, was not reported until now, leading some to speculate that they had been overlooked because of their sexuality, the Daily Mail reports.

The couple was on a picnic when they heard gunfire and screaming as Breivik began his killing spree on Utoya island.

Realising something terrible was happening, and seeing youngsters fleeing the island into the waters of the lake, they pushed their boat out to come to the rescue, the paper said.

"We saw how the young people ran in panic into the lake," said Dalen.

Without caring for their own safety, the couple drove their boat to the island to rescue young and wounded victims from the waters.

Since there were so many to rescue, they returned to the island four times.

In total the pair rescued 40 youngsters, the paper said.

Breivik killed 77 people in his attack on Utoya Island and a bomb planted outside Norwegian government buildings in Oslo.

He claimed he carried out the attacks to launch a revolution against a Europe spoiled by Muslim immigration.