A South Korea-chartered flight left for Libya on Friday to evacuate hundreds of South Koreans from the turmoil-laden country, the foreign ministry said, after delays due to congestion in the Libyan airport and other problems.
The Egypt Airlines Airbus 330 flight, which can carry up to 260 passengers, departed from Cairo at 1:40 a.m. local time (8:40 a.m. Korean time), and it will take about three hours to get to the Libyan capital of Tripoli, the ministry said.
The flight is part of Seoul's efforts to retrieve South Koreans from the dangerous situation in Libya as anti-government unrest escalates. About 1,400 South Koreans were in the northern African nation -- about 1,050 of them in and around Tripoli and some 340 others in and around the eastern port city of Benghazi.
In addition, a Korean Air flight is also scheduled to arrive in Rome at 4:20 a.m. local time en route to Libya, officials said. The B747 flight, which can carry up to 330 people, could arrive in Libya as early as 11 a.m. local time if it is granted landing approval from Libya, officials said.
Officials said that they were also in talks with Egypt Airlines to run another charter flight from Cairo to Surte in central Libya to evacuate South Koreans staying there.
South Korea has also directed a warship, which has been conducting anti-piracy operations in waters near Somalia, to head to Libya to help evacuate South Koreans in case other evacuation means are limited, officials said.
The 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young left the Gulf of Aden on Thursday afternoon and is expected to reach Libya in the first week of March, officials said.