Major rescue effort to get 6,000 Europeans out of Libya

A MAJOR rescue strategy has been launched to help an estimated 6,000 Europeans trapped in Libya to escape the country.

Experts in Brussels painted a picture of considerable chaos with planes with empty seats having to leave the main airport in Tripoli despite the thousands waiting to leave. The numbers registering at their country’s consulates in Tripoli had reached 10,000 earlier this week and many had already left.

Ships, including military vessels, are on their way or are being mobilised to rescue people who want to leave the north African country. The main problem is how to get out an estimated 1,000 EU citizens trapped in Benghazi, the city where the worst fighting has taken place but whose airport has been destroyed.