Spain evacuates 124 people from Libyan capital

A Spanish armed forces plane  carrying 124 people evacuated from the Libyan capital Tripoli landed in Madrid early on Friday, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

The evacuees included 40 Spaniards as well as Mexican, British, Canadian and Portuguese nationals.

Spain is planning the evacuation of a small number of Spaniards from outside Tripoli, the spokesperson said.

Spain had been trying to get an official flight into Tripoli since Tuesday but had not received permission to land.

The Spanish oil company Repsol evacuated dozens of its staff and Spanish embassy workers on a charter flight on Wednesday.