Four Thai Nationals Kidnapped in Southern Nigeria

A gang has abducted four Thai nationals in southern Nigeria in what was believed to be a ransom kidnapping, while a Nigerian drowned in the incident, a local official said Saturday.

A group of kidnappers in a boat on Friday attacked the four Thais and two Nigerians while they were on their way to work at a fish farm in the southern state of Rivers, state agriculture commissioner Emmanuel Chindah told Agence France Presse.

The incident occurred in the Buguma area, where the fish farm is state-owned but operated by the Israeli firm Onida, according to the commissioner.

"Some of these hoodlums crossed them in the water," Chindah said.

"They sped off and dropped the two Nigerians somewhere before going further into the creeks. One Nigerian drowned. The four Thai nationals are still with them."

Chindah said there had not yet been any contact with the abductors, but the incident was believed to be a ransom kidnapping, which occurs regularly in the region.

Most kidnap victims in southern Nigeria are released unharmed after the payment of a ransom, unlike in the country's north, where Islamist extremists have killed a number of their hostages.