ABUJA, Nigeria, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Nigerian militants may have taken victims of a weekend raid on an oil platform in the Niger Delta to Cameroon, sources said.
Militants laid siege to an oil platform during the weekend, kidnapping at least seven workers with U.S. supermajor Exxon Mobil. The Nigerian newspaper Vanguard reported that it was unclear how many militants were involved in the 10-minute raid but the attackers fired on the platform from at least six speed boats.
The report said there were 74 people on the platform at the time of the raid. Security officials on the platform responded initially though stopped to prevent a fire on the rig, initiating an emergency shut-down procedure instead.
The Vanguard adds that there was no contact with the abductors, who are feared to have taken their hostages to Cameroon.
Authorities with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria are calling on government officials to ensure the victims are released.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group, claimed responsibility for the raid in a statement Tuesday.
The attack came a week after workers with London oil group Afren were abducted from the some region.
