Police arrested three men in Sweden who were suspected of raping a woman and broadcasting the assault live on Facebook. The crime took place on an early Sunday morning in Uppsala, about an hour north of the capital, Stockholm, with the police reportedly receiving a tip-off around 9:00am.

The three suspects, aged between 18 and 24, were in an apartment in the city when the police raided over and detained them. They also found the alleged victim there, a 30-year-old woman, who was close to unconscious at the time the police arrived.

According to the police, several viewers of the live Facebook broadcast reported the rape. One of them, Lovisa, 22, came across the group page by accident while chatting online.

The witness told the Sweden's Expressen Newspaper that 200 people were already watching the live video at the point she began watching the assault. "Two guys pushing down a girl on the bed... I first thought it was a poorly-orchestrated joke. But it was not," she said.

Lovisa immediately reported to the police pertaining the assault, revealing that one of the suspects had streamed the entire rape using a mobile phone and even posted photos of the assault on Snapchat. The video stopped as the police suddenly arrived on the scene, followed by sounds of commotion in the background.

The video had been removed, according to a local media report. Deputy Chief Prosecutor, Magnus Berggren, told Sweden's TV4 Channel that investigators do not have the footage of the assault, and appealed anyone who has a copy of it to immediately contact authorities.

The investigation into the serious sexual offence is in a preliminary phase and no-one has been charged yet, police spokeswoman Lisa Sannervik said. In the meantime, the police are investigating how the members of the Facebook group where the aggravated rape was streamed, received an invitation to the closed group. The apartment of the suspects is also currently being examined by forensics specialists.