Wang Qunying forces back tears in front of her teenage son and daughter, who are still unaware their father has been taken hostage by unidentified gunmen in Nigeria.

"I hope they don't find out anytime soon. I don't want to scare them or affect their schoolwork," Wang said.

Her husband, Li Shaofu, 36, is one of five Chinese telecommunication workers who were abducted last Friday in the Rivers State of southern Nigeria.

All five are from southwest China's Sichuan Province. Two of them are interpreters from the provincial capital Chengdu and three are technicians from the less developed cities of Meishan and Neijiang, the provincial commerce department said yesterday.

When Wang got the gut-wrenching news on Saturday, she demanded she be allowed to go to Nigeria to search for her husband, a local official told Xinhua.

"We tried to console her and reassure her the government is doing everything it can to get her husband home safely," said Liu Hong, an official in charge of labor and security in Meishan.

Sole breadwinner

Li is the sole breadwinner of the poverty-stricken family in rural Renshou County of Meishan. His job in Nigeria pays handsomely compared to local standards: He makes US$800 a month, and Teleken Engineering Co, the Chengdu-based telecommunication company that employs him in Africa, sends his family an additional 800 yuan (US$102) a month.

Wang's neighbor, Yin Yuqun, is also anxious. Her husband, 42-year-old Gao Zeming, is also one of the hostages.

"He left for Nigeria in 2005 and has never come home for a visit," said Yin. "I know he's saving every cent to repay the family's debts."

The family has been in debt since their house burned down in 2001, said Li Shaojun, an official in the couple's home village. "Medical bills of Gao's parents and school expenses for their only son simply increased the burden."

Following the kidnapping, Teleken Engineering has withdrawn its workers from two other locations in Rivers State to ensure their safety.

The company has been contracted to install a rural telephone service in Nigeria.

No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

Rivers State is located in the oil-rich but troubled Niger Delta where there have been more than 10 kidnappings of foreign workers since the beginning of last year.