Russian planes ready to take off to evacuate Russians from Libya

MOSCOW, February 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Emergencies Ministry is
preparing its planes for evacuation of Russian citizens from the
violence-stricken Libya, a ministry source told Itar-Tass.
On Fenbuary 20, anti-government riots spread to the country's capital
city, Tripoli. Contradictory reports are coming from here about the number
of vicitims. Thus, official Libyan sources speak of 84 people killed,
while the opposition says the clashes have claimed several hundred human
lives and left about a thousand injured.
"The president has ordered to elaborate a plan of evacuation of
Russian citizens from Libya. Four Emergencies Ministry's aircraft,
including an Ilyushin-62, a Yakovlev-42, and two Ilyushin-76 planes are
ready to take off. Two more planes, an Ilyushin-76 and a Yakovlev-42, are
on the standby," said Irina Andrianova, a ministry spokeswoman.
"We hope four planes will be able to leave for Libya in the morning of
Tuesday, February 22," she said. "The Ilyushin-62 will be the first one to
take off. The early data we have indicates there are about 500 Russian
citizens to be evacuated."
President Dmitry Medvedev's press secretary Natalya Timakova said
earlier the President had issued and instruction to the Emergencies
Minister Sergei Shoigu and the president of the Russian state railway
corporation RZD, Vladimir Yakunin, to draft plans for a possible
evacuation of the Russian nationals stranded in Libya.