Five kidnapped from Nigerian oil rig

July 5, 2007

Five men have been kidnapped in a raid on a Royal Dutch Shell oil rig in Nigeria. In the early morning raid, several armed men in boats opened fire on the rigs security guards.

A security expert says that it would be unusual for the kidnappers to kill the victims. Their main objective, he says, is to send a message to the government.

A Shell spokesperson says the company does not pay ransom for the release of kidnapped workers, but is obviously concerned for them.

The captured are Bruce Klenner and Gottard Brene from New Zealand, Jason Lane from Australia, George Saliba from Lebanon and Andreas Gambra from Venezuela.