Indian nurses stranded in Libya seek help to get home

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A group of 25 Keralite nurses stranded in Benghazi in Libya have sought the help of Indian authorities for their evacuation from the strife-torn country.

The Kerala Government and its Non-Resident Keralite agency Norka have brought the plight of these women to the notice of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Tripoli.

Savitha, one of the nurses, said as many as 25 nurses were now staying at the Medical Centre in Benghazi to where they had been brought after different hospitals in which they were working had been shut as the city was caught in vortex of fight between defence forces and militants.

"We have been living in great difficulty and deeply worried. Though the Indian embassy has been informed, no help has come from its side so far," Savitha told a Malayalam news channel over phone.

Norka CEO P Sudheep said the state government was aware of the matter and had already informed the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Ambassador in Tripoli.

"We have mailed the list of persons stranded there. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has spoken to our Ambassador there. We will continue our efforts for the safe return of them", he said.

In July this year, forty six nurses who ran into trouble in strife-torn Iraq were safely evacuated to Kerala.