The three Frenchmen who were kidnapped late in May in south Yemen are still alive and their whereabouts has been located, a Yemeni official of the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The three French humanitarian aid workers, including two women and a man, who were abducted in Sayon city in the southeastern province of Hadramout late in May, were found alive and their whereabouts has been located," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"The security authorities found them and al-Qaida militants were apparently not behind the kidnap," he added.

Yemeni officials on May 28 said three French nationals were abducted in the province of Hadramout. They work for the non- governmental organization French Triangle, in the country since 1998.