4,500 Chinese escape Libya by sea, Americans stuck

[Turborama]

Source: AP

Foreigners escape Libya and disclose accounts of the "frightening situation" describing the violent scenes they witnessed
AP , Thursday 24 Feb 2011

Two ships braved churning seas Thursday to whisk 4,500 Chinese workers away from strife-torn Libya to the island of Crete, while rough weather further west left hundreds of Americans stranded on a ferry in Tripoli.

As tens of thousands of foreigners sought to flee the turmoil in Libya, Britain pondered whether to send in its military to evacuate oil workers stranded in remote sites by fierce fighting in the North African nation.

Those who made it out of Libya described a frightening scene with bodies hanging from electricity poles in Libya's eastern port of Benghazi and militia trucks driving around loaded up with dead bodies. One video showed a tank apparently crushing a car with people inside.

=snip=

Americans who eagerly climbed aboard the Maria Dolores ferry at Tripoli's As-shahab port on Wednesday faced a long delay in their travel plans. Strong winds have been whipping up high waves in the Mediterranean Sea, and the 600-passenger catamaran ferry was not likely to leave for Malta until Friday.

Read more: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/6384/World/Region/,-Chinese-escape-Libya-by-sea,-Americans-stuck.aspx

[Turborama]

1. They're still stuck on that ferry in Tripoli. AC360 about to give an update on how they're doing n/t

[amandabeech]

2. Maybe the U.S. should have used some smaller ships from the 6th fleet.

They should be more seaworthy in rough seas than a catamaran ferry.