Helsinki - Two Finnish journalists were briefly detained Friday while on assignment in the central Chinese province of Henan, Finnish public broadcaster YLE said.

The two YLE journalists, reporter Pirkko Pontinen and cameraman Mika Mattila, were detained while working on a report on a construction worker from Henan who was hired to work on one of the sites for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games.

Police also detained the Chinese construction worker, his nephew and an interpreter and said the two reporters were working in an area closed for foreign nationals, the report said.

Pontinen told YLE's online site that their passports were seized and they were threatened with large fines, but on advice of Finnish embassy officials in Beijing refused to pay any money. (dpa)