Gunmen kidnapped 3 Australians, 1 New Zealander and others in Nigeria

Nigeria: Seven mine workers including three Australians, one New Zealander, two Nigerians and one South African have been kidnapped by gunmen in a deadly road side attack on Wednesday in Calabar, Nigeria.
The men who were in a group driving on the outskirts of the city were ambushed by the gunmen who shot and killed a Nigerian driver. One Australian managed to escape the attack.

The kidnapped men worked for Perth-based mining company Macmahon Holdings, in southeast, Nigeria.
The Nigerian government and police are currently working with Austrian officials to investigate the attack.

Austrian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the identity of the kidnappers was yet unknown. Turnbull told reports that;

"It is a very serious kidnapping,"
"In many respects the foreign minister, Julie Bishop and I say about this the better from the point of view of recovering the kidnapped people."

According media reports, the men had been traveling in four vehicles and escorted by police when they were attacked near a bridge.

Macmahon while expressing his support for the families of the victim said;.

"We are working to ensure the safe return of all the men involved and are in communication with their families,"

In a statement by Ms Bishop, she said, while Australian officials had some understanding of what happened during the ambush, she was unwilling to go into detail "lest it affect the outcome".

"We are treating this extremely seriously, as I understand is the Nigerian government, and I will continue to remain in contact with our ambassador and at the appropriate levels within the Nigerian government," she said.

The Austrian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) had warned Australians not to visit the region due to high risk of kidnapping, robbery and other armed attacks.