ANKARA - Three Chinese workers went missing Sunday in southeastern Turkey and Chinese and Turkish sides are cooperating to rescue the workers, the Chinese embassy in Turkey said on Monday.

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A thermal power plant in Silopi District of southeastern Turkey's Sirnak Province, which is being constructed by China Machinery Engineering Corporation, was attacked by militants at around 9 p.m. local time Sunday, and three Chinese workers disappeared, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy told Xinhua.

A report from private Dogan news agency said the Chinese engineers were kidnapped by outlawed Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK) militants.

The PKK militants, before attacking the thermal plant with long barreled weapons, kidnapped the Chinese engineers who were shopping at a nearby shop, according to the report.

The Chinese embassy attached great importance to the incident and asked the Turkish government to go all out to rescue the missing Chinese workers while enhancing security measures for Chinese enterprises and employees in the country.

Turkish security forces have launched a wide scale rescue operation. The Chinese side will maintain close coordination with the Turkish government on the rescue of their compatriots, the embassy said.