The coordinated efforts of the tired but strong-willed staff at the Foreign Affairs Ministry call centre saw the number of Maltese in Libya who wished to come to the island drop gradually over the past days.

The call centre, set up on Monday, received hundreds of e-mails and over 1,200 telephone calls from people in Libya and their relatives in Malta seeking assistance.

Two Maltese workers rescued from Libya joined the Foreign Ministry personnel to help track down other people in the north African country.

One of the workers flew in on a private flight on Friday while the other returned on a Croatian vessel.

They called at the centre in Valletta to express their gratitude and ended up briefing staff about the location of other Maltese still in Libya.

An employee at the 24/7 centre said they had located all those willing to return and drafted a plan for their evacuation. They used Skype to contact Maltese people in Libya who cannot be reached by phone.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi toured the call centre yesterday afternoon and spoke with Patrick Ciantar on Skype, who said it was all quiet and peaceful at his end. Mr Ciantar said he would head back to Malta after making sure his 150 employees were evacuated out of the country.