British and U.S. diplomats in Nigeria were checking reports on Friday of an attack on an offshore oil rig in which up to six Britons, two Americans and a Canadian were taken hostage, the diplomats said.
Security sources said the Beaufort Dolphin rig, operated by small Nigerian company Peak Petroleum, was attacked around 0200 GMT and a ship cruising nearby, the Ossa Valiant, received a distress call from the rig.
As well as the expatriates, eight Nigerian staff were kidnapped in the attack, the sources said, adding that remaining staff from the rig were being evacuated to the city of Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta.
“We’re following it up as quickly as we can. It’s not confirmed but we are taking it very seriously. We are fearing the worst,” said a British diplomat.
A U.S. diplomat said he had heard the reports from reliable security sources and was treating them as real.
There was no immediate indication of any link to a campaign of attacks and abductions by the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has cut Nigeria’s oil exports by a quarter.
MEND has usually claimed its attacks within minutes by sending emails to media, but there was no word from the group on Friday and they did not immediately respond to messages.
A security source said the attacked rig is located about 60 miles off the coast of southern Nigeria.