The Maltese oil worker abducted in Libya last week is a retired captain of the Armed Forces of Malta.

Times of Malta, which revealed the abduction earlier today, can confirm that Martin Galea, originally from Balzan and a resident of Bidnija, was abducted by western Libyan rebel militias on July 17 on his way to work at a site managed by his employer, Arab Geophysical Exploration Services Company, in the outskirts of Tripoli.

Speaking in Parliament this evening, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the government was informed about the case last Sunday.

When asked by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, the Prime Minister said he could not give assurance that Mr Galea was alive, but the last information he had was that he was. The situation was, however, constantly evolving.

Sources in Libya told Times of Malta that a search for Mr Galea has been on since the end of last week but no clues were given about his whereabouts and his fate was unknown.

According to the sources, Mr Galea, 42, was held by rebels during a road block when he was in a car driven by a Libyan national.

Although the incident happened more than a week ago, the Maltese government had not made any official announcement until this evening.

Dr Muscat told Parliament the government was informed about the abduction first by a colleague and later by Mr Galea's partner. It immediately started working on the case through the police and the diplomatic service to contact the Maltese man or his abductors.

The government’s priority was to ensure Mr Galea was safe and that his life was not in danger. The situation was a very delicate one but the government had now identified the sub-militia which abducted Mr Galea and contacts had been made for his release. Diplomats had returned to the embassy risking their lives to help Mr Galea, the Prime Minister said.

The news was kept under wraps because the government was advised that the less publicity the abduction was given the better for safety reasons, Dr Muscat said.

Dr Muscat said that the Maltese who wanted to be evacuated had left and those who remained in Libya stayed out of their own free will.

Times of Malta is informed that despite interventions by the Foreign Ministry in Libya, particularly through Malta’s embassy in Tripoli, no contact has yet been established with the abducted Maltese citizen.

Libya is currently in turmoil and chaos with rebel militias fighting each other with the government losing control.

The news comes as Parliament tonight discusses the latest developments in Libya, following a motion by the Nationalist Opposition to hold an urgent debate on the situation.

Last week, the government described the situation in Libya as serious but insisted there was no need for the evacuation of Maltese citizens working there.

In a statement this evening, the Nationalist Party expressed concern at the development saying describing it as "very serious" especially after the government had insisted in the past days that the situation in Libya was not serious and there was no need for the Maltese to be evacuated.

It noted that this evening’s debate in Parliament was only being held because of the motion moved by its spokesman Carm Mifsud Bonnici.

The government was informed of the abducted person after Dr Vella had stated that there was no need for the Maltese in Libya to be evacuated.

Dr Busuttil expressed his solidarity with Mr Galea and said that the news, revealed by Times of Malta, was shocking and the Opposition would be fully supporting the government in its work to ensure the worker returned to Malta safely as soon as possible.

mynews@timesofmalta.com