Chinese government officials of a workgroup on Friday paid a visit to four rescued Chinese workers under treatment in a Khartoum hospital, who was kidnapped by gunmen in southwestern Sudan on October 18.

The workgroup, headed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry and involving officials with the Ministry of Commerce and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), arrived in Khartoum Thursday night to handle the aftermath of the kidnapping issue.

The bodies of three Chinese workers killed by kidnappers in Sudan were transferred to the airport in Khartoum on October 28, 2008.

The group conveyed the sincere solicitude of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council and expressed the deep sympathy of whole Chinese people to the victims.

The officials also learnt in details of the rescue process of the four workers and paid a great attention to their health.

The rescued workers, who were grateful to the visit of the workgroup, expressed their heartfelt thanks to the party, the state and the people.

Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen and CNPC deputy general manager Wang Dongjin also paid visits to the rescued workers on Friday.

Nine Chinese oil workers were abducted at a work site in southwestern Sudan on Oct. 18. Four of them have been confirmed dead and one has gone missing, while the four have been rescued.

The Chinese Embassy said that it would continue to cooperate with the Sudanese authorities and to do their best to find out the fate of the last Chinese worker.

(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2008)