India begins evacuation of nationals from Libya

Feb 26, 2011 |

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Mumbai/New Delhi: India on Saturday began pulling its nationals out of turmoil-hit Libya by two Air India planes, including a Boeing carrying 291 people.

"The Boeing flight carrying 291 Indian nationals from Libya took off at 4.10 PM (Indian Time). It is expected to land at New Delhi's IGI Airport at around 11.50 PM tonight (Saturday night)," an Air India official told the media.

An Air India Airbus 330 with a capacity of 300 also left the Libyan capital at 8.15 PM (Indian time) for New Delhi where it is expected to reach at around 3AM on Sunday. The total number of Indians in Libya is estimated to be 18,000.

Besides, two Naval ships INS Jalashwa and INS Mysore set sail from Mumbai Friday morning for Libya. The sailing time is about twelve days to that country.

Another passenger ship with a capacity of 1600, now in the Mediterranean, is being chartered on Saturday and will be pressed into service for assisting the departure of our nationals out of Libya, an External Affairs Ministry statement said.

Scotia Prince, another chartered ship, is already on its way to Libya and will transport the Indians to a safer destination from where they will be airlifted, Shipping Minister G K Vasan said in Chennai. The ship has a capacity of 1200 passengers.

The Ministry said it has positioned additional personnel at the Indian Embassy in Tripoli to help in the process.

"Our Mission has worked tirelessly to get this flight organised," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said on the microblogging site Twitter.

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