The evacuees, employees of the China Communication Constructions Engineering Co., waited to leave aboard the "Hellenic Spirit" in a line that stretched several kilometers at the port in Benghazi.

BENGHAZI, Libya - More than 2,200 Chinese construction workers on Friday endured a hazardous 70-kilometer dash to reach a chartered Greek ferry waiting to evacuate them from the deadly chaos in Libya.

The evacuees, employees of the China Communication Constructions Engineering Co., waited to leave aboard the "Hellenic Spirit" in a line that stretched several kilometers at the port in Benghazi.

Related readings:  Some 12,000 Chinese evacuated from Libya  Obama calls Sarkozy, Cameron over Libya unrests  China strives to evacuate nationals from Libya  Libya evacuations by country

"The situation in the surroundings of the port is still very dangerous, and travelling here takes risks, but luckily everyone in the company made it, no one was left. It is so good to see rescuers sent by the homeland," said Xu Zhiqiang, a senior administrator of the construction project.

The "Hellenic Spirit," which was chartered by the Chinese embassy in Athens, arrived at the Libyan port to evacuate the workers and take them to the island of Crete where they would fly home on chartered flights.

Company organizers of the evacuation said the workers were employed at a construction site some 70 kilometers from Benghazi.

The rescue operation began early Friday and all available vehicles, including trucks and carts, were mobilized to transport the workers to the port.

Many of the workers were stopped and threatened by armed personnel along the way, with their vehicles and belongings forcibly taken away.

Chen Xiaxing, a senior diplomat with the Chinese embassy in Athens, estimated the boarding process may last about four hours.

To facilitate the entry into Crete, and other future moves, Chen ordered the workers split into groups of 50 once they boarded the ferry.

The evacuees will be directly transported to hotels via pre-arranged buses, once the vessel arrived at the south Greek island. The "Hellenic Spirit" , which has a capacity of 2,000 passengers, left the port of Heraklion on Crete island at 15:18 GMT. A second vessel, the "Olympic Champion" , followed soon after. The two vessels had successfully delivered the first wave of some 4,000 Chinese evacuees to Heraklion on February 24.

A third vessel, carrying around 3,900 Chinese evacuees, already left Benghazi earlier in the morning.