LONDON — British military planes entered Libyan air space in a daring rescue of more than 150 people, many of them oil workers, from desert locations, officials said Saturday.
The C-130 Hercules planes, carrying Britons and other nationals, safely landed in Malta after picking up the civilians south of the eastern Libyan port of Benghazi, said Defense Secretary Liam Fox.
The rescue mission was bold because few planes have been able to fly through Libyan air space. It was not clear whether it was a British special forces mission, but the SAS has been on standby for an evacuation mission of those stuck in oil fields, according to U.K. media reports.
One of those who was rescued said the military plane that he boarded in Libya was initially supposed to carry around 65 people but quickly grew to more than double that number.
“It was very cramped, but we were just glad to be out of there and getting on the flight,” Patrick Eyles, a 43-year-old Briton, said at Malta International Airport.
The Associated Press
