Hostages released in Nigeria
2003-11-30 12:37
Canberra - An Australian oil industry worker, who was kidnapped with six colleagues in Nigeria last week, is one of two hostages who have been released.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Julie McDonald has confirmed that the 27-year-old man, whose name was not released, has been freed.
The other man released was a Russian national, she said.
McDonald said the Scottish-based pipeline company Bredero Shaw, which employed the men, was looking after the Australian worker.
"What we know is that he's unharmed, but slightly shaken and showing concern for the others he's left behind," McDonald said. "He walked out of where he was being held to his company's base in the area."
She said Australian officials did not know why he was released and had no other details. "The company is doing the debriefing," she said.
Militants, who captured the seven expatriates on Thursday, have demanded $36 000 for their release, said Abel Oshevire, a spokesperson for the Delta state government in Nigeria.
The workers...abducted from the south-eastern Warri region of the Niger river delta...included a Briton, two Colombians, an Australian, a Russian and a Moldovan, according to diplomats from Colombia, Britain and Australia. The nationality of the seventh victim was unknown.
In April, about 100 Nigerian workers on offshore oil rigs took 170 Nigerians and 97 foreign workers hostage during a wildcat strike over transportation and other issues.
- AP