Sorry, but "being scared to death" and "being in fear for their lives" are your words, and has not appeared in any news reports so far.
The Swedish word "livrädd" just means "terrified", not that you are in fear for your life.
The Swedish word "livrädd" just means "terrified", not that you are in fear for your life.
I gave both translations because the term used was "livrädd", not merely "rädd". This could be an intentional obfuscation of the sentiment behind the words - thus, it could be read to state they said they were "scared to death" (or "terrified" if you prefer) or actually in fear for their lives. Implications with plausible deniability.