Two Chinese workers who were kidnapped by unknown gunmen Thursday morning in southern Cairo have been released and returned safely to their homes. Photo:Xinhua

Two Chinese workers who were kidnapped by unknown gunmen Thursday morning in southern Cairo have been released and returned safely to their homes after their company paid their ransom.

Zhang Zhizhong, director of consular affairs of the Chinese embassy in Cairo, said the two workers were brothers who were employed by a marble company from southern China's Guangdong Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The two were just leaving their rented apartment in Maadi district in southern Cairo when they were kidnapped by the gunmen, who demanded a ransom of 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($83,000) for their release.

Wang Hu, deputy head of the Chinese People's Association in Egypt told the Global Times that the two workers were out purchasing marble materials when the gunmen took their vehicle and called their company demanding the ransom.

The company has hundreds of workers in Guangdong and Fujian provinces and a small number of employees in Cairo to purchase raw materials.

After the incident, the company's Egypt office contacted its headquarters, which agreed to pay the ransom to ensure the workers' safety.

Two hours later, workers from the company took the ransom to a gas station under the direction of the gunmen. However, at the gas station, they did not see the two Chinese workers, but an unknown man picked up the money and left immediately.

Around 11:50 am local time, the company received information that the two Chinese workers had been released and were on their way home, Wang said.

The two Chinese were released safely in Giza, west of Cairo, around noon. They have returned to their rented house in southern Cairo, according to the Chinese embassy, Xinhua reported.

The Chinese embassy also advised Chinese citizens living in Egypt to be aware of rising crime and take proper precautions.

"The incident has shown that Egyptian criminals are looking for new ways to grab money. Paying the ransom will have a bad impact on the current deteriorating security situation in Egypt. Chinese companies in Egypt might face more extortion from criminals," Wang said.

Crimes such as carjacking and robbery have been on the rise in Egypt after last year's unrest. Several cases of kidnapping occurred in late January and early February in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

On January 31, local Bedouins held 25 Chinese workers and demanded the release of their relatives in Arish, North Sinai. The Chinese were released 16 hours later unharmed.

On January 28, in Sudan, a Chinese-run construction site was attacked by Sudanese rebels on the border with neighboring South Sudan. 29 Chinese workers were kidnapped and one died in the attack.

The workers were released to the International Committee of the Red Cross 11 days after they were abducted.

Jiao Xiang in Cairo contributed to this story