Militants in Nigeria have freed seven foreign oil workers seized during an attack earlier this month on an ExxonMobil compound, a spokesman for the company said today.
The seven were taken hostage October 3rd during a raid on a residential compound housing ExxonMobil employees in the southern Niger Delta town of Ekit.
ExxonMobil spokesman Paul Arinze said Nigerian government officials informed the company today that all had been released.
Earlier today British diplomats were attempting to verify reports that a British oilworker had died while still being held hostage.
Four Britons were among seven overseas workers kidnapped at gunpoint in the attack on their residential compound nearly three weeks ago.
It was reported that one of the group, Paul Smith, a married father of two from Peterhead in Scotland, had died.
However, both the Foreign Office and his employers, Aberdeen- based Sparrows Offshore, were unable to confirm this.
Mr Smith, a crane engineer, was one of three Sparrows' employees in the group being held hostage. It was not yet clear whether Mr Smith was among those released.