Three Chinese engineers were kidnapped by outlawed Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK) militants in Turkey's southeastern province of Sirnak on Saturday evening, private Dogan news agency reported Monday.

According to the preliminary information, the Chinese engineers have been working at the thermal power plant belonging to a private company in Sirnak's district of Silopi at the mountain foot of Cudi.

The source also said that PKK militants, before attacking the thermal plant with long barreled weapons, kidnapped the Chinese engineers who were shopping from a nearby small shop.

To rescue the Chinese engineers, Turkish security forces have launched a wide scale rescue operation. The thermal plant has been constructed by privately owned Silopi Park Electricity.