U.S. Struggles To Evacuate Libya; Others Don't
Bill Chappell NPR EXCERPT:
U.S. efforts to evacuate hundreds of Americans from Libya are being stymied by bad weather on the coast and by the refusal of Moammar Gadhafi's government to allow American charter planes to land there.
Some 285 people have been sitting on the Maria Dolores, a chartered ferry, since Wednesday, as the ship's crew waits for the stormy seas to calm, according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says.
The ship isn't likely to leave port until Friday, according to reports.
In a Newscast spot, Michele Kelemen reports that 40 of the ferry's passengers are U.S. embassy personnel and their families, 127 of the passengers are private U.S. citizens, and the rest are from other countries. And some of the American passengers are identified as security personnel.
The weather did not stop China from using two large ferries to take 4,500 Chinese workers to safety on the island of Crete, the AP reports. And aircraft from France and Britain have been able to get citizens from those two countries out of harm's way.
In a briefing, Crowley was asked why Britain's Royal Air Force was able to land a Hercules aircraft in Libya, which then took a planeload of Britons out of the country.
"We chartered a ferry, which would have the equivalent passenger load of two or three aircraft," Crowley said.
"Had we been luckier with respect to the weather, everyone would be comfortably in Malta," he said. "That's not the case, but we will get that ship underway as soon as the weather permits."
END EXCERPT
Huh. If I had family in Libya, I'd be fuming.
Bill Chappell NPR EXCERPT:
U.S. efforts to evacuate hundreds of Americans from Libya are being stymied by bad weather on the coast and by the refusal of Moammar Gadhafi's government to allow American charter planes to land there.
Some 285 people have been sitting on the Maria Dolores, a chartered ferry, since Wednesday, as the ship's crew waits for the stormy seas to calm, according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says.
The ship isn't likely to leave port until Friday, according to reports.
In a Newscast spot, Michele Kelemen reports that 40 of the ferry's passengers are U.S. embassy personnel and their families, 127 of the passengers are private U.S. citizens, and the rest are from other countries. And some of the American passengers are identified as security personnel.
The weather did not stop China from using two large ferries to take 4,500 Chinese workers to safety on the island of Crete, the AP reports. And aircraft from France and Britain have been able to get citizens from those two countries out of harm's way.
In a briefing, Crowley was asked why Britain's Royal Air Force was able to land a Hercules aircraft in Libya, which then took a planeload of Britons out of the country.
"We chartered a ferry, which would have the equivalent passenger load of two or three aircraft," Crowley said.
"Had we been luckier with respect to the weather, everyone would be comfortably in Malta," he said. "That's not the case, but we will get that ship underway as soon as the weather permits."
END EXCERPT
Huh. If I had family in Libya, I'd be fuming.
