CAIRO - Twenty-five Chinese workers working for a cement factory in Egypt were held Tuesday by some local people in the northern Sinai town of Arish, officials at the Chinese embassy in Cairo told Xinhua.

The Chinese -- 24 workers and a translator -- were riding a bus to their plant when they were stopped by locals on a road in Arish and then taken to a makeshift tent nearby, commercial affairs counsellor of the embassy Ma Jianchun told Xinhua.

Ma said he was on his way to Arish to deal with the incident.

The Chinese workers were safe now and some kept contact with the embassy through mobile phone, said Zhang Zhizhong, consular affairs director of the embassy.

Zhang said the Chinese workers were seized at around 11:40 am local time (0940 GMT). Chinese Ambassador Song Aiguo has talked with officials of the Egyptian interior and defense ministries, urging the Egyptian side to put the safety of Chinese workers first, properly handle the incident and secure their release as soon as possible.

Egyptian security forces have rushed to the scene and contacted local tribal leaders over the incident, he added.

The local people demanded the Egyptian government release their relatives detained several years ago because of suspected involvement in attacks in South Sinai between 2004 and 2006.