India to despatch 2 warships to evacuate Indians from Libya

New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) India will on Saturday despatch
two warships equipped with helicopters, marine commandos and
medical facilities to evacuate its citizens from trouble-torn
Libya to either Malta or Egypt from where they would be
airlifted back to the country.
"We are sending INS Jalashwa along with INS Mysore from
Mumbai equipped with full medical facilities such as operation
theatre, doctors and paramedics to bring back Indians stranded
in Libya," Navy officials said here.
The ships are also carrying helicopters and a contingent
of marine Special Forces personnel, they added.
After making its first halt in sea resort of Alexandria
in Egypt, the warships will reach Libyan ports and then
evacuate Indian nationals to either Malta or Egypt from where
they will be transferred by air to India, they said.
The two ships will take at least eight to ten days to
reach Alexandria and from there go to one of the ports in
Libya, which has not yet been decided, they added.
The Defence Ministry had received a request from the
External Affairs Ministry to see if it could help in bringing
back Indian citizens from there.
LIBYA LD NAVY 2 LAST
INS Jalashwa, the largest amphibious platform of the
Indian Navy designed for sea-lift missions and is also capable
of undertaking humanitarian missions.
The over 27,000-tonne ship can carry more than 1000
passengers.
The MEA has already hired a ship Scotia Prince which
can ferry 1,200 passengers. The ship is already in Egypt and
readying to sail to Benghazi, the second largest city of
Libya, which will be the initial focus of the evacuation
operations," the MEA said.
There are about 18,000 Indians in that country with
majority of them living in Tripoli which is one of the
worst-affected cities due to the protests.
Indian companies, many of which are based in Libya for
decades, have also offered to work with the Indian Embassy in
Tripoli in facilitating evacuation.