By SPA,
Beijing : Five Chinese oil workers kidnapped in Sudan were killed by their captors during a botched rescue attempt, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the workers were killed during a rescue effort by Sudan that freed two other workers. She said China was working to free another two
workers still being held.
The nine were kidnapped by rebels nearly two weeks ago.
Jiang said China was involved in the rescue attempt, according to a report of Associated Press. She said China had a working group in Sudan at the time of the rescue.
The Chinese and Sudanese governments have made great efforts for their rescue, Jiang said at a regular news conference.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said Monday that the workers had been killed but it gave no details.
China buys nearly two-thirds of Sudan’s oil, and petroleum sales account for 70 percent of the African country’s export revenue.