Seized Briton Reported Killed During Rescue

A British oil worker taken hostage by militants off the coast of Nigeria was killed during a rescue operation by the Nigerian navy, it was reported last night.

The dead man, who has not been named, was seized with six other foreign oil workers early yesterday from a supply vessel belonging to a subsidiary of the Italian oil giant Eni SpA. Another hostage was seriously wounded in the firefight, in which two kidnappers and one soldier were also killed.

A colleague of the hostages said the dead man was British and that the wounded oil worker was Italian. The Foreign Office could not confirm the dead man's nationality last night, but a spokesman said they were urgently looking into the reports.

In a statement released last night, Eni said: "During an attempt by the Nigerian navy to free the seven hostages ... there was an exchange of fire during which one hostage was killed and the remaining six, including one wounded one, were freed and taken to a safe place."

The oil company had said earlier the hostages were two Finns, an Italian, a Filipino, a Briton, a Pole and a Romanian. The Finnish foreign ministry in Helsinki confirmed that two Finns were among those freed, but gave no other details.

A spokesman for the Nigerian military said last night the men had been kidnapped about 30 miles off the coast of Nigeria's Rivers State by gunmen in speedboats. "There was a rescue mission. Five hostages were rescued, one was wounded and one was killed in the crossfire," he said.

The kidnappings were the latest in a series of attacks on oil installations in the volatile Niger delta, where most of Nigeria's oil is produced. Since the beginning of the year, militant groups have attacked pipelines and taken oil workers hostage in violence that has cut the country's usual crude output of about 2.5m barrels a day by a quarter.

Civilians have also taken over oil facilities to protest about the lack of jobs and development in the regions.

On Monday, Eni said a two-week armed siege at its Tebidada oil pumping station in Nigeria had ended peacefully and the company had resumed an output of 50,000 barrels a day. The station, in Bayelsa state, was occupied on November 6 by a group of militants and villagers who took 48 Nigerian workers hostage, demanding compensation from the company for oil spills. Several hostages escaped and others were released.

Most oil workers kidnapped over the past year have been released. The hostages are usually freed after a ransom is paid by the companies and the government, according to security analysts.

Seized British oil worker killed during rescue attempt

A British oil worker taken hostage by militants off the coast of Nigeria was killed during a rescue operation by Nigerian forces, it emerged last night.

The dead Briton, who has not been named, was seized with six other foreign oil workers early yesterday from a supply vessel belonging to a subsidiary of the Italian oil giant Eni SpA. Another of the hostages, an Italian man, was seriously wounded in the firefight, in which two kidnappers and a soldier also died.

The Foreign Office later confirmed that a British national had been killed during the rescue attempt."We have informed next of kin and they have asked us not to give out any further details as they inform other relatives," said a spokesman.

The dead man is thought to be the first British oil worker to be killed after being taken hostage in Nigeria.

In a statement released last night, Eni said: "During an attempt by the Nigerian navy to free the seven hostages ... there was an exchange of fire during which one hostage was killed and the remaining six, including one wounded one, were freed and taken to a safe place."

The oil company had said earlier the hostages were two Finns, an Italian, a Filipino, a Briton, a Pole and a Romanian.

A spokesman for the Nigerian military said the men had been kidnapped about 30 miles off the coast of Nigeria's Rivers state by gunmen in speedboats. "There was a rescue mission. Five hostages were rescued, one was wounded and one was killed in the crossfire," he said.

The kidnappings were the latest in a series of attacks on oil installations in the volatile Niger delta, where most of Nigeria's oil is produced. Since the beginning of the year, militant groups have attacked pipelines and taken oil workers hostage in violence that has cut the country's usual crude output of about 2.5m barrels a day by a quarter. Civilians have also taken over oil facilities to protest about the lack of jobs and development in the regions.

On Monday, Eni said a two-week armed siege at its Tebidada oil pumping station had ended peacefully and the company had resumed an output of 50,000 barrels a day. The station, in Bayelsa state, was occupied on November 6 by a group of militants and villagers who took 48 Nigerian workers hostage, demanding compensation from the company for oil spills. Several hostages escaped and others were released.

Most oil workers kidnapped over the past year have been released, usually freed after a ransom is paid by the companies and the government, security analysts say. However, in 2004 two foreign and five Nigerian subcontractors to Chevron died when their boat was ambushed in the creeks, and last August a Nigerian hostage was killed during a botched rescue attempt by the Nigerian navy. Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but most inhabitants of the oil-rich delta remain poor. The country is the world's eighth-biggest oil exporter.


Sam Jones and agencies in Port Harcourt