Egyptian tribesmen free 25 kidnapped Chinese workers

Egyptian tribesmen free 25 kidnapped Chinese workers

2012-02-01 22:03:23 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO, EGYPT (BNO NEWS) -- All twenty-five Chinese nationals who were previously kidnapped by Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt's central Sinai were released on early Wednesday morning, officials at the Chinese embassy in Cairo told the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The kidnapped workers were freed early Wednesday morning at around 3 a.m. local time, about 15 hours after being kidnapped. Commercial affairs counselor of the embassy Ma Jianchun told Xinhua that the workers were in a good condition and were now staying at a military hotel in Arish.

The Chinese nationals, who work for a cement factory, were riding a bus to their plant when they were stopped by locals in the northern Sinai town of Arish on Tuesday. The 24 workers and a translator were then taken to a makeshift tent nearby.

Throughout the ordeal, some of the workers were able to keep contact with the embassy through their mobile phones. Pan, 25, one of the kidnapped workers, told the media outlet that the text messages being sent from the embassy helped them feel relieved that there were officials working to free them.

Pan also thanked both Chinese and Egyptian officials for their efforts and said none of those kidnapped suffered from physical harm or loss of any property. The tribesmen have been demanding that the Egyptian government release their relatives detained several years ago because of suspected involvement in attacks in south Sinai between 2004 and 2006.

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