Five South Korean workers were kidnapped Wednesday by unidentified armed insurgents in Nigeria, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.
They comprise three workers from Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. and two from Korea Gas Corp. All are involved in oil development projects there, it added.
"We are trying to confirm the identity of the kidnappers and their motive," a Foreign Ministry official said.
The government convened an emergency meeting of related ministries to discuss countermeasures, he added.
The Korean workers, along with one local worker, were snatched while they were sleeping at a marine structure construction site off the coast of Harcourt, a southern port city in the Delta Region, the official said. Nine other Korean workers at the scene narrowly escaped abduction, he added. The insurgents reportedly raided the site shortly after midnight (Nigerian time) and fired rockets to destroy six boats belonging to Daewoo.
An official at the South Korean Embassy in Nigeria told Yonhap News Agency that all of the kidnapped workers appeared to be unharmed.
"We are closely cooperating with the local police and navy for their release," he said over the phone.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction said it was trying to locate the kidnappers and the abducted workers.
"Once we reach them, we will start talks with the kidnappers under close cooperation with the Nigerian government," company official Huh Hyun said. "We expect all the abductees to be freed safely since most kidnappings in Nigeria are done for money." Korea Gas said it formed a task force to ensure the release of its employees.
Foreign workers in the African country are vulnerable to kidnapping as many locals are increasingly disgruntled about foreigners' participation in local oil development projects.
Nigerian militant groups believe the country's contracts with foreign firms are a main source of surging unemployment among local youths and poverty in the region.
As recently as last week, an angry insurgent group kidnapped eight expatriate oil workers in the Delta Region, including six Britons, a Canadian and an American.
They were released unharmed three days later. Seoul, June 7 (Yonhap News)
Five S. Korean workers kidnapped in Nigeria |
