Foreigners stranded in Lebanon taken to safety

Hundreds of Americans and Russians were reported still stranded in the heart of Lebanon’s war zone today, after a ship pulled foreign nationals out of a port in the south of the country.

The Cypriot ship Princesa Marissa sailed into the southern port city of Tyre and picked up about 300 foreigners stuck there – a joint effort by the US, Switzerland, Norway and others, said Erik Rattat, a German official involved in the evacuation.

Rattat said 300 Americans were trapped southeast of Tyre yesterday, and had called the US Embassy for help.

He said the embassy called him, asking the Cypriot ship to wait as long as possible in hopes the Americans could climb aboard.

But the boat had a deadline to leave by 5pm (3pm Irish time), he said.

The ferry boat arrived at Larnaca port around 1.15am (11.15pm Irish time) from Tyre, carrying some 230 mostly European nationals.

Ambulances stood by to carry to the hospital several injured evacuees who were on board. A Canadian ship is due in Tyre tomorrow to evacuate more people, officials said.