The chartered ferry Eleftherios Venizelos offloaded the Chinese at the Cretan port of Heraklion where more than 10,000 of their fellow nationals have arrived in recent days by sea before being airlifted home.

Greece was initially asked to assist in the evacuation of some 15,000 Chinese, of a total workforce of 33,000 in Libya, but that number could rise, a government source told AFP Wednesday.

A police source on Crete said more Chinese evacuations would be carried out from the western Greek port of Patras, and more than 600 Filipinos would arrive at Heraklion aboard the ferry Ionian Queen on Wednesday evening.

More than 100,000 people including many migrant workers have already fled Libya to escape a crackdown by Kadhafi loyalists that has left at least 1,000 dead, according to conservative UN estimates.

South Korea has also sent out ships from Greece to evacuate thousands of construction company workers.

One left the Greek port of Piraeus Tuesday and will call at the Libyan cities of Misurata and Sirt on Wednesday and Friday respectively, the South Korean transport ministry said.

Two additional ships from Greece will arrive in Tripoli and Benghazi on Thursday and Friday respectively to bring evacuees back, the ministry said.

The three ships in total will carry about 3,500 people including 244 South Koreans, it added.

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