At least 50 teenagers from Shanxi province are being held by kidnappers in Myanmar, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

Their parents have been told the children will be tortured if the criminal group's ransom demands are not met, the report said.

Zhang Yunbao, a police captain from the Yanhu district of Yuncheng - the Shanxi city from where some of the youngsters hail - was quoted as saying that as of Monday, police had received "at least 50" reports of children being held in the Myanmar city of Myitkyina.