A chartered ferry carrying about 2,900 Chinese nationals evacuated from Libya, arrived at the island of Crete on Saturday.
Braving rough seas, the Greek-flagged “Eleftherios Venizelos” left Benghazi, Libya, on Friday. It carried 2,898 Chinese and 13 citizens of other nationalities to safety.
The arrival was part of a major operation undertaken by the Chinese government in coordination with Greek authorities, to rescue a total of 6,000 Chinese workers from the North African country.
Exhausted from the adventure and excited for their rescue, the evacuees were warmly welcomed in heavy rain by Luo Linquan, the Chinese ambassador to Greece and Greek officials.
Following a short passport control procedure conducted on the ship, evacuees were given water and sandwiches and transferred to hotels until their return to China aboard chartered flights.
Similar scenes unfolded on Thursday, when the first two chartered Greek liners, “Hellenic Spirit” and “Olympic Champion” sailed to Heraklion from Benghazi, with more than 4,200 Chinese from Libya aboard.
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