As the siege on Beirut entered its 10th day, the first Maltese nationals caught in the Lebanese capital arrived home yesterday, drained but safe after a two-day journey.
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry was not in a position to say whether there were any more Maltese in Lebanon.
For Corinne Lanfranco this was a case of escaping from her own homeland, where she was on holiday with her husband - Captain Reuben Lanfranco - to attend a friend's wedding.
Tears flowed freely down Mrs Lanfranco's face as she hugged some girlfriends who went to the airport to greet her.
Fr Joseph Buhagiar Bianco has a close kinship with Beirut, having lived there for the past 33 years. He recounted at the Malta International Airport how he could hear clearly the bombing of the capital from the Jesuits' residence in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Did he think he was in danger?
"We really could not say," he replied.
Both Fr Buhagiar Bianco and Capt. Lanfranco admitted to never having expected something of the sort to happen.
"It started when we least expected it, overnight, and we couldn't believe it. And then it escalated, so everyone started moving out," Capt. Lanfranco said. When the airports were bombed, he thought it would just end there, something that had happened in the past. Instead, the situation escalated, leading to the mass exodus of anyone who could get out of the country.
The Lanfrancos and Fr Buhagiar Bianco were transported to Cyprus on board a British navy ship that was dispatched to get people out.
Fr Buhagiar Bianco said he contacted the British Embassy in Lebanon, who called him back on Wednesday morning, informing him they would be leaving within the hour.
"I quickly packed some clothes and left," he said, his face belying his tiredness.
Capt. Lanfranco said it was a pity that not all EU member state embassies were helping EU citizens hailing from other countries.
Although glad to be back on safe ground, Fr Buhagiar Bianco admitted feeling sorry for the people still in the midst of the clash between Israel and Hizbollah. Lebanese civilians were being told to leave villages in southern Lebanon.
Would he go back?
Fr Buhagiar Bianco hesitates and then smilingly admits he does not really know. "I will only go back if I am able to land at Beirut airport. Otherwise I won't go," he said.
On the other hand, Mrs Lanfranco was adamant on returning to what her husband described as a "beautiful country". After all, it is her homeland.