HONG KONG - Actresses Linda Chung and Shirley Yeung have finally opened up about a terrifying night 10 years ago, when they were pursued by men wielding machetes and pipes in Panyu, China.

For years, there were unconfirmed rumours that the cast and crew of the 2006 TVB drama The Biter Bitten were attacked by criminals after a karaoke night, and that Chung and Yeung went missing for two hours, said Apple Daily.

TVB star Chung, 31, recounted the incident in an episode of the talk show Wanna Bros, which aired on Sunday. The attack "is up to now, a mystery to me", she said. She believes it was a case of mistaken identity, she added.

The Biter Bitten, starring Chung, Yeung, Benny Chan and Michael Tong, was shot in Panyu, Guangdong province in 2005.

Chung said it was her roommate Yeung's birthday on Aug 7, and cast and crew had a karaoke night.

They left the bar around 1am, and Chung said she was in the front line when "a taxi door opened, and a dozen, 20 men came out with machetes, and said in Mandarin, 'Don't go'".

She said she ran for her life, till she saw a pit near a garbage dump. She told Yeung to jump with her into the hole, which she covered with rubbish.

She said they stayed in the pit till they were found by her personal assistant. "I really had post-traumatic stress after that," she said.

Former TVB star Yeung, 37, confirmed the incident on Tuesday, said Ming Pao Daily News.

She admitted TVB had asked her not to talk about the attack, and denied rumours that she had been sexually assaulted.

She said she ran so hard that night that her slippers slipped off. Also, a member of the crew was wounded.

Asked if she hid in the hole for two hours, Yeung answered: "I don't know. It just felt like a long time to me. It was the closest I came to death. I'm so thankful for Linda. We're life-and-death friends."