Rumors denied that famous Swedish crime author had been shot.

• EU condemns Israeli raid on Gaza aid flotilla • Israel releases footage of storming
• Sweden: Israeli raid 'completely unacceptable' • 'Israel is guilty of colonialism and apartheid' • World in shock after deadly Gaza ship raid • Massive anti-Israel protests across Scandinavia

Famous Swedish crime author Henning Mankell was not hurt when Israeli commandos attacked the Gaza-bound aid flotilla he was traveling Monday, Sweden's foreign ministry said, countering a rumour the writer had been shot.

"Our embassy there has spoken with Mehmet Kaplan, (a Swedish parliamentarian participating in the flotilla), who said he and four other Swedes had managed to get to land," ministry spokeswoman Ingrid Palmklint told AFP, adding that Mankell was among them.

Her comments came after Erling Folkvord of a far-left party in neighbouring Norway told hundreds of demonstrators in Oslo he had heard Mankell was among those shot in the attack that left at least nine pro-Palestinian activists dead.

When asked about the claim, Folkvord told AFP he had "heard from someone I deem credible that Henning Mankell had been shot and injured."

He stressed however that "this is a statement that has not been verified."

Palmklint meanwhile flatly rejected that Mankell may have been shot.

"No, that is not the case," she said.

The 62-year-old author of the Wallander detective series joined the flotilla from Cyprus by way of smaller boats "after almost 48 hours of playing hide-and-seek with Cypriot police," Ship to Gaza Sweden said in a statement.

Mankell, whose books about world-weary detective Kurt Wallander have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and have been adapted to film and television, said he was taking part in the flotilla to show his solidarity towards the Palestinian people.

"I think that when one talks about solidarity, one must always know that actions are what proves destiny," he told Swedish public radio last Thursday.

"It is with actions that we prove we are ready to support something we believe is important," he said.

In addition to Mankell and parliamentarian Kaplan, Ship to Gaza Sweden said nine Swedes were in the flotilla when it was attacked, including controversial Swedish-Israeli artist Dror Feiler and several doctors and academics.

Palmklint said four other Swedes had been taken to a prison and they were still trying to determine the location of the others.

The ships, carrying more than 700 passengers, were on a mission to deliver some 10,000 tonnes of supplies to Gaza, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007.

Israel had warned the attempt to break the blockade was illegal and that it would intercept the ships.