Libya Evacuations: Panic, Weather And Security Threaten Foreign Efforts (PHOTOS)

Though bad weather, panic and deteriorating security nearly thwarted foreign efforts to evacuate their citizens from strife-torn Libya, those expatriates who did make it to their destinations received heroes' welcomes.

As the Los Angeles Times is reporting, about 600 Americans were stranded aboard a ferry at Tripoli's harbor, reportedly prevented from sailing by approaching bad weather. State department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the Maria Dolores, which includes about 40 U.S. embassy personnel and their families, will leave Friday.

But other foreign governments have managed to evacuate large groups of their nationals by ship from Tripoli, including 4,500 Chinese workers whisked to safety on the Greek island of Crete, while Turkey also has managed to send in ships to repatriate the first few hundred of an estimated 25,000 Turkish citizens.

With massive queues and mountains of baggage, the scene at Tripoli's international airport was chats, with upwards of 10,000 people clamoring to board the few planes able to land.

View photos of the evacuations here: