BEIJING - Egyptian locals have freed 25 Chinese workers they held for about 15 hours on Tuesday in Arish, North Sinai, an official with the Chinese embassy to Cairo said on Wednesday. 

The workers were in good health, Ma Jianchun, commercial affairs counselor of the embassy, told Xinhua News Agency. 

They were freed around 3 am local time on Wednesday and taken to a military hotel in Arish to wait for further arrangements, said Ma, who met the workers shortly after their release. 

The details of the release were not immediately clear. 

A 25-year-old worker surnamed Pan was quoted by Xinhua as saying that the Chinese embassy remained in contact with the workers, who did not suffer any physical harm or loss of personal property, through text messages. 

"We owe a lot of thanks to the Chinese government, embassy and the efforts of Egyptian authorities," he said. 

The Chinese embassy and the company of the workers sent food, clothes and medicine to them through locals while the workers were being held. 

"We had expected the problem to be solved in one or two days. But it was settled so quickly. We felt we were dreaming a dream," Pan said. 

The Chinese workers were held on Tuesday by Bedouins - local tribesmen - in Arish during a bus trip to a cement plant. The locals then took them to a nearby tent. 

The locals have been blocking the road for days, demanding the release of five fellow tribesmen detained by Egyptian authorities for suspected involvement in fatal attacks in South Sinai between 2004 and 2006. The group also demanded that Egypt stop exporting gas to Israel. 

Local tribal leaders were mobilized by Egyptian authorities for negotiations over the release of the Chinese. 

"After arriving in Arish on Tuesday evening, we were holding talks with local police and intelligence authorities without any rest to seek their earlier release," Ma said. 

"The Egyptian government attached great importance to the matter. Its military leaders urged local authorities to take good care of the freed Chinese workers," he said. 

The security situation has deteriorated in Sinai since the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Armed men have bombed pipelines in Arish supplying natural gas to Israel and Jordan at least 10 times. A local police station was attacked last year, leaving several people dead. 

In efforts to seek the release of the Chinese workers, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Song Aiguo on Tuesday talked with officials of the Egyptian interior and defense ministries, urging the Egyptian side to put the safety of the Chinese workers first and secure their release as soon as possible. 

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday reminded Chinese institutions and nationals overseas to be more wary of safety risks, strengthen preventative measures and contact China's diplomatic missions in emergency situations. 

In a separate case, a Chinese team arrived in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Tuesday to help rescue 29 Chinese workers who have been held by rebels after a Saturday attack on their camp in southern Sudan. 

One other Chinese worker has been missing since the attack. 

"As far as we know, the (29) Chinese workers are safe. They are safe. They are not hurt," the head of the security team, Qiu Xuejun, told China Central Television in Khartoum. 

The 29 workers, who were involved on a road project, have been described as hostages by the Sudanese authorities. The rebels, however, say they are collateral victims of armed clashes with government forces and would not be harmed. 

Chinese embassies in Cairo and Khartoum have called the cases isolated incidents.