A total of 50 Bulgarian citizens have registered to board the Turkish ship Iskenderum, which is to evacuate foreigners from Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia announced.

The registration for the evacuation continues as the Turkish ship is supposed to depart from Benghazi later Thursday, and to reach a still unspecified Turkish port 30 hours later.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in contact with our Turkish partners, which will provide conclusive information once the Iskenderum sails off from Benghazi," the Foreign Ministry announced.

Initial information had it that about 100 Bulgarians are expected to be evacuated from Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya, which is already in the hands of the pro-democracy uprising fighting the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi.

The evacuation of Bulgarians from Benghazi was agreed between the governments of Bulgaria and Turkey.

Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov has announced that some Bulgarian citizens have already managed to leave Libya via Egypt on their own in addition to the more than one hundred Bulgarians already evacuated from the capital Tripoli by the Bulgarian government planes on Wednesday.

Mladenov said that some 500 Bulgarians are registered in the Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli as residing in Libya but that their actual number is probably higher.

The top diplomat said the current events in the Arab world are going to accelerate the realization of an idea of the Foreign Ministry to launch a website where Bulgarian citizens traveling abroad will be able to register voluntarily.

A telephone for contact with the Turkish embassy in Tripoli: 00218917193350

Turkish consulate general in Benghazi:

Telephone: (00218) 612230002/ 612230003

Fax: 00 218612230002

e-mail: turcons.benghazi@mfa.gov.tr

The Bulgarian government's Airbus successfully landed on Sofia's International Airport on Wednesday with only one Bulgarian, a woman, on board. The others passengers included 70 people from Croatia, 2 from South Korea and 10 from China.

Earlier on Wednesday another plane landed at the Sofia International Airport with 110 Bulgarians and 6 Romanians on board, mainly medical and construction workers.

However, many Bulgarians are still stranded in Libya as they need at least three days to reach Tripoli, but have been advised not to take long trips over the unstable situation and escalating tensions. The Sofia-based government has said it is looking to find ways to evacuate Bulgarians from eastern Libya by sea.

Two Turkish ships left the eastern Libyan port of Benghazi on Wednesday escorted by a navy frigate, heading to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Marmaris. Turkey also sent two more ships to Libya and flew 250 more Turkish citizens back home.

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