Sixty-one Chinese workers who concealed themselves in a mountainous area of Siberia, Russia, after fleeing from a labor dispute, have been transferred to a safer place, local authorities from Suihua, Heilongjiang Province, where many of them are from, confirmed to the Global Times on Sunday.

Their situation came to light after a post Thursday on the local news portal, suihua.ccoo.cn, saying that the 61 workers bolted to the mountains after finding their 12,000 yuan ($1,957) monthly salary promised by a subcontractor was empty talk, adding that their safety was threatened.

The post, which also says the subcontractor from Heihe, Heilongjiang, took hundreds of workers from the city's Beilin district and also from Jilin Province to Russia in April, had pictures showing the workers, including some women, were huddled around campfires in a wooded location.

An unnamed official from the district government told the Global Times Sunday that local officials went to Russia to pick the workers up, adding that they are in very good condition, without giving other details.

The 61 villagers are from several townships in Suihua and hid themselves in mountains in Kemerovo, Kemerovskaya Oblast of southwestern Siberia, the Beijing Times reported Sunday.

The workers were transferred to the foot of the mountains Friday night and were "well settled" with the help of the Chinese embassy in Russia, the Beijing Times reported.

On Saturday, a 10-member team from Suihua government, commercial bureau and the Heilongjiang provincial foreign affairs office arrived in Kemerovo for further investigation.

An initial investigation shows that of the total 380 workers, some 200 are from Heilongjiang.

The provincial foreign affairs office quoted the developer who hired them as saying that the work of the laborers, mostly carpenters, was found to be below standard, triggering the dispute. However, the office said it needs further investigation to verify this.

One of the 61 workers, surnamed Wang, told the Global Times Sunday that he came down from the mountains  early Saturday morning.

"We were promised the salary in the contract we signed, but the subcontractor ate his words, so we fled as we felt unsafe," Wang said, adding that their accommodation has been arranged.

The Chinese embassy in Russia told the Global Times that they have sent two employees to Kemerovo to coordinate with workers and local authorities.

Also in the past week, Russian security authorities said Thursday that 17 Chinese vegetable farmers were detained for allegedly using banned chemical insecticide, chemical products for fast growing and genetically modified seeds in Sakhalin Oblast in Russia's Far East, RIA Novosti reported.