The European Union is seeking naval back-up in a bid to rescue up to 6,000 Europeans trapped in Libya, a spokesman for the European Commission said today.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 Europeans remained stranded in Libya, many of them in eastern Benghazi, said spokesman Raphael Brigandi.

The commission, via a 24/7 civil protection unit known as MIC, had asked member states to identify all air and sea transportation means available to evacuate these people.

"We have also through the mechanism (MIC) looked into the possibility of getting support from vessels, including military vessels, which are around in the area," he said.

In a separate development, a senior EU official said the 27-nation bloc was mulling a possible military intervention to assist though no decision had been taken.

"This possibility is one of the possibilities we're working on," said the official, who requested anonymity.

Brigandi said a vessel coordinated by China had made 500 places available for EU citizens.

The EU on Wednesday called on Libya "to ensure the safety" of foreign nationals and ease their departure from the country in the midst of an insurrection against Moamer Kadhafi's regime.

The bloc "urges the Libyan authorities to ensure the safety of all foreign nationals, and to facilitate the departure of those wishing to leave the country," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

In total some 10,000 citizens from EU nations had registered at their countries' consulates in Libya, the commission said Wednesday.

It activated the MIC (Monitoring and Information Centre) in helping to find extra evacuation capacity on Wednesday evening.

The MIC operates if a country affected by a major disaster inside or outside the EU makes a request for assistance.

The EU has two battle groups made up of 1,500 troops able to take part on humanitarian or evacuation missions.