LAGOS -- The five released Chinese telecom workers who were taken hostage on January 5 in the Nigerian southern state of Rivers left for China on Sunday.

They took a China Southern Airlines flight coded CE332 which left the Nigerian city of Lagos at about 3 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) and was due to arrive at Beijing International Airport on Monday.

Officials from China's Consulate General in Lagos saw them off at the Lagos International Airport and wished them a smooth trip.

The five Chinese workers were kidnapped on January 5 by gunmen from their residence in Rumuakunde Emouha, a village about 35 km away from Port Harcourt, the capital of Nigeria's southern state of Rivers.

After 13 days of intense work of a team composed of staff of the Chinese embassy and the China's Sichuan Telecommunication Company for which the kidnapped work, the five were released on January 17 local time.

They arrived in the Nigerian capital of Abuja for rest and were warmly attended by the Chinese embassy.