Seven people including one Romanian citizen have been kidnapped in Nigeria, Reuters reported on Wednesday. All were later released by the kidnappers, according to reports later today. They were workers on a ship belonging to Italian oil company Saipem, part of the ENI group.

Sources within the oil industry security services have said the kidnappers were armed persons who reached the Mytras off-shore installation by boat.

The attackers later left the ship with seven hostages, while other 76 members of the team are safe. Mytras suffered no damage in the process.

Romanian ambassador to Nigeria Emil Rapcea told NewsIn press agency that he was waiting for a confirmation that a Romanian citizen was among the hostages.He said he had already contacted the company and was expecting details on the situation.

The ENI company confirmed that a Romanian was among the seven people taken hostage on Tuesday night. The other six are an Italian, a Philippine, two Finns, a Briton and a Pole.

It is the second time this year that a Romanian citizen is taken hostage in Nigeria. The first, engineer Emil Neagu, was kidnapped on October 3 and later freed.