Kidnappers have killed five Chinese oil workers they were holding hostage in central Sudan.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that five were murdered, two escaped with minor injuries and another two were still being held hostage.
They were abducted in South Kordofan, central Sudan, on 19 October.
They were doing contract work for the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. GNPOC is a consortium led by CNPC of China. It also includes ONGC of India, Petronas of Malaysia and the state-owned Sudapet of Sudan.
Their abduction was the third such incident in the region in the past year.
Four Indian oil workers and a Sudanese driver were abducted in May.
Another five oil workers - an Egyptian, an Iraqi and three Sudanese - were earlier abducted in October 2007 but later released.
