BEIJING, October 16 (RIA Novosti) - The seven Russian tourists reported missing in China's mountainous northwestern region are out of danger, an unidentified Chinese security official said on Friday.

The Xinhua news agency reported earlier on Friday that rescuers in the Xinjiang province had been searching for the group since Tuesday following a report that one of them was ill.

"We have information that the tourists' lives are out of danger, but one of them is injured," the official told RIA Novosti.

He said the information came from the group's interpreter, who accompanied the Russians to an unpopulated area near the Kunlun Mountains. The tourists kept in contact with the interpreter through a satellite phone.

The interpreter returned to the province's center Urumchi on September 15.

The official said the tourists' precise whereabouts are not known, but details could come later on Friday as Chinese rescuers are continuing the search effort.

Earlier reports said search efforts have been complicated by poor weather, mountainous terrain and the lack of roads in the area.

The Kunlun is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km. It runs westward along the northern part of the Tibetan plateau to form the border range of northern Tibet.