Colombian authorities are searching by land and air for the four Chinese oil workers who were allegedly kidnapped by the FARC in the south of the country, said police.
Caqueta Police Commander Carlos Vargas said that the four employees of British company Emerald Energy — three engineers and one translator — are being searched for by the Tarea Omega force, a joint army, navy and air force body responsible for carrying out operations against the FARC, reported Spanish news agency EFE.
“We are looking for them. The search is being done by air, sea and land,” an armed forces commander from the elite body said to AFP.
The air force is “circling the area with combat, intelligence, recognition and attack planes,” while “army troops and national police personnel are reinforcing the operation by land,” stated an air force communique.
The workers were kidnapped Wednesday as the employees were traveling in a car near the town of San Vicente de Caguan, in the southern Colombian department of Caqueta, when a group of armed men blocked the road and took them hostage.
The incident has been attributed to the FARC’s “Teofilo Forero” mobile column, which operates in the south of the country.
According to Vargas, neither the kidnappers nor the victims have contacted the oil firm or the victims’ families.
According to RCN Radio, the oil company said that the reason behind the kidnapping is still unknown, though police earlier reported that the workers were kidnapped for ransom. The company has enacted an emergency plan to deal with the incident, while details of the case are being investigated by authorities.
