Four foreign oil workers who had been held hostage for 19 days by separatist rebels in Nigeria have been released.
Bulgarian and British officials confirmed the release this morning of the four, a Bulgarian, a Briton, an American and a Honduran.
The four, who are said to be in good shape, are to undergo medical examinations before being flown via London to their respective countries.
Officials did not say how the hostage crisis had been resolved.
The four oil workers were kidnapped from an oil industry supply vessel under contract to Shell on 11 January by Nigerian separatist militants who have vowed to cripple the country's oil industry.
The Nigerian militants said in a statement that they had released the men for humanitarian reasons but vowed to keep up their violent campaign for a greater share of Nigeria's oil and gas resources for the Niger Delta's 14 million ethnic Ijaws.
