A group of 12 workers, including three South Koreans and eight Filipinos, were kidnapped on Thursday by armed militants in Nigeria, the South Korean foreign ministry said.
”Three Koreans from Daewoo Engineering and Construction, eight Philippine workers and a local driver have been kidnapped by a group of armed insurgents,” a ministry spokesperson said.
The workers were taken hostage at a power plant construction site near Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta area, he said.
”A gunfight erupted between the insurgents and security guards but there have been no reports of injuries involving South Korean workers as yet,” he said.
An emergency control centre, consisting of Daewoo officials and South Korean diplomats in Nigeria, has been established to work for an early release of the hostages, the spokesperson said.
”An emergency meeting will be held soon at the president’s office [in Seoul],” he said.
No group came forward immediately to claim the kidnapping.
Rich in oil reserves, the Niger Delta area has been at the centre of a long confrontation between the Nigerian government and a militant group.
Kidnappings of foreign workers in the area have been frequent in recent years. Nine Daewoo workers were taken hostage in January but were later released unharmed. – Sapa-AFP