No Chinese nationals were among the foreign sailors abducted off the coast of Cameroon, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy to Cameroon on Friday, contrary to an early report that indicated there were nine Chinese hostages.
According to cross-checked information obtained by the Chinese embassy on Friday, unknown gunmen attacked two foreign vessels in Cameroon waters at 11:10 p.m. Wednesday local time, and kidnapped a dozen sailors, none of them were Chinese.
Among those taken were eight crew members of a German-owned ship, confirmed Hamburg-based company MC-Schiffahrt in a statement on its website on Friday, adding that it had assembled an emergency team and was cooperating with local authorities in the West African country to deal with the incident.
Nigerian special forces sail to intercept pirates during a joint exercise between Nigerian and Moroccan naval personnel as part of Obangame Express, a multinational maritime exercise involving 33 countries off the coast of Lagos on March 20, 2019. /VCG Photo
The sailors were aboard a vessel in the Gulf of Guinea when the pirates attacked them. The specific number and nationality of those who have been kidnapped are still unknown.
The attackers "are likely Nigerian pirates" known to haunt the Gulf of Guinea, the official said.
Search efforts are underway.
(with input from Xinhua, Reuters)