Dozens of Balkan Citizens Flown Out of Libya on Bulgarian Planes

The Bulgarian government's Airbus landed at Sofia International Airport during the day on Wednesday with one Bulgarian and dozens of others from Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, South Korea and China on board.

Sixty-five workers from the Croatian construction company Viadukt were among those who arrived in Sofia, including Croatians, Macedonians and Serbians. The Croatian nationals were welcomed by Croatian Ambassador Danijela Barisic, and the Macedonian and Serbian workers by their ambassadors.

The workers will be taken to Zagreb aboard a charter flight organised by Viadukt.

"There are another 11 Viadukt workers in Libya, of whom two are expected to reach Zagreb aboard a Lufthansa flight via Frankfurt, and nine are expected to arrive in Croatia via Vienna," Tomislav Strbac of Viadukt told press, adding that all workers had plane tickets and were expected to arrive in Croatia during the day.

"Once they arrive, Viadukt will have withdrawn all of its workers from Libya," said Strbac.

Scores of other Croatian workers in Libya are awaiting evacuation.

Macedonia's Foreign Ministry said that following the arrival of nine citizens on the flight to Sofia, there are now ten waiting to be evacuated from Tripoli. The Ministry says most of the Macedonians are construction workers.

The Ministry also noted that there are some 30 Macedonians located in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, where the airport has been closed for days, and explained that officials are trying to get them on board a Turkish ship.

The first Bulgarian plane landed in Sofia at 4 am with 110 Bulgarians and 6 Romanians on board. They are mainly medical and construction workers.

"I saw horror," a nurse named Poli was quoted saying after arriving in Sofia on the first flight. She said that all Bulgarians wishing to evacuate were able to board the plane. Poli explained she had a passport, but not an exit visa.

Georgi Ivanov, a contractor based in Libya, said he believed that the situation in the country is stabilizing and will be under control within the next three to four days.

"I arrived in Tripoli in my own car. There were no problems on the roads during the day, but it is dangerous at night. As soon as things return to normal, I will go back to Libya," Ivanov said.

Meanwhile, the Romanian government has approved €225,000 in funds to evacuate its citizens from Libya. Bucharest plans to send a plane to fly back 220 Romanians who have asked for help in leaving the country.

Dozens of Romanians also work on oil fields in remote areas of Libya, but the government has advised them to stay where they are rather than try to reach the capital Tripoli.