'Colombia gunmen kidnap 23 oil workers'

Colombian gunmen have kidnapped 23 local oil contractors carrying out exploration work in a remote jungle area, local provincial governor Juan Carlos Avila said on Monday.

Colombian gunmen have kidnapped 23 local oil contractors carrying out exploration work in a remote jungle area, local provincial governor Juan Carlos Avila said on Monday.

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Guerrillas from the FARC rebel group and illegal cocaine trafficking gangs operate in Vichada province where the kidnapping took place.

Kidnappings have become rarer in Colombia as security has improved, but the large-scale hostage-taking shows the risks still facing the oil and mining firms working in rural parts of the Andean country where state presence is weak.