Ship to bring Indians back from Libya approaching port: Govt

New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) Noting that all Indians are
safe in violence-hit Libya, government today said it has
commissioned ships to bring back people from that country free
of cost and that the first vessel is approaching Benghazi
port.
"Let me assure the nation that all Indians are safe
and all those Indians who are willing to be evacuated will be
evacuated safely and without any expenditure incurred by
them," Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said.
He said all possible arrangements were being made to
evacuate Indians who are willing to get out of Libya, which
has been rocked by protests against the Gaddafi regime.
"We have commissioned ships to move to Benghazi port,"
he told reporters outside Parliament, adding the first ship is
"approaching the port".
While the first ship will be able to carry 1120
people, the second one has a smaller capacity, he said.
Asked if there are plans for arranging aircraft for
evacuation, he said the "flight situation is very uncertain,
but we are closely monitoring the developments".
India had yesterday deplored the use of force by
Libyan authorities against anti-government protesters and said
it was working on a "mammoth" operation to evacuate about
18,000 Indian nationals from the North African nation.
According to reports, over 300 people have been
killed so far in the brutal crackdown against protesters
demanding an end to Muammar Gadhafi's 41-year rule in Libya.