Nine released Chinese oil workers back home from Nigeria

They were welcomed by managers and colleagues from Chinese National Petroleum Co. (CNPC) as well as officials from Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Commerce at the Capital International airport.

Ma Liqiang, one of the workers, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the government and their company for their efforts to secure their release.

"It is the government and the company who gave us the second life. "Ma choked with sobs.

A Chinese oil company compound was attacked by unidentified gunmen in southern Nigeria on Jan. 25. Nine workers were kidnapped and the others moved to a safe place.

The nine were set free at 6:35 a.m. on Feb. 4 (Beijing time), following 11 days of tough diplomatic efforts.

The attack happened four days after five Chinese telecom workers who had been kidnapped in Nigeria returned to China. They were captured by unidentified armed men on Jan. 5 in the southern Nigerian state of Rivers and released 13 days later on Jan. 17.

Zheng Hu, vice president of the CNPC, said the company will arrange check-ups and holidays for the nine workers, and comfort their spouses and relatives.

He also called for increased awareness of safety and risk from all overseas employees and urged them to step up precautionary measures to ensure their safety.

The nine workers arrived their hometown in Hebei Province, which borders Beijing, later Wednesday afternoon.