SEOUL, June 8 (UPI) -- Yonhap news agency has reported that South Korea's Foreign Ministry said that five South Korean workers have been kidnapped by Nigerian extremists.
The kidnapped victims include three employees from Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. and two Korea Gas Corp. workers, all employed in natural gas development projects.
A Foreign Ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity said, "We are trying to confirm the identity of the kidnappers and their motive."
Following the abductions June 7 the South Korean government convened a ministerial emergency meeting to discuss resolving the crisis.
The Koreans, along with a Nigerian, were abducted while they were sleeping at a natural gas facility on Bonny Island near the port city of Harcourt in the Delta Region. Nine other Korean workers at the facility narrowly escaped kidnapping and were rescued by a military helicopter.
Nigeria's oil industry is witnessing rising violence against foreign workers by local militants, who have reduced the country's output by an estimated 20 percent.
