Hostage killed in rescue attempt
One foreign oil worker was killed and another was wounded during a hostage rescue attempt today, according to private security contractors and Nigerian security officials.
Two kidnappers and a military officer also were killed.
The nationality of the dead or injured hostages was not yet known.
Gunmen seized seven hostages, including one Briton, from an Italian oil supply vessel off the coast of southern Nigeria, this morning.
Twenty-five foreign workers and nearly 60 Nigerian employees were on board a vessel belonging to a subsidiary of Italian oil giant Eni SpA that was attacked overnight, Eni said in a statement.
The company said 10 armed men attacked the ship and took seven people away on a speedboat, grabbing two Finnish citizens along with an Italian, a Filipino, a Briton, a Pole and a Romanian.
A private security contractor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that nearly all those on the vessel were held at gunpoint before the attackers left with the seven captives.
The ship was not damaged and those who remained on board were reported in good condition, Eni said.
Eni said it is in contact with the Foreign Ministry in Rome and local authorities in Nigeria.
Police spokeswoman Irejua Barasua confirmed that an attack occurred on an oil vessel.
It was about 30 miles off the coast at the time, the contractors said.
