The most efficient and cost-wise way to evacuate a large number of Thai workers stranded in violence-stricken Libya is by sea, Employment Department director-general Jirasak Sukonthachart said on Tuesday.

Currently, there are about 23,600 Thai workers working in Libya and in Benghazi and Tripoli areas, where the situation is worst, over 10,000 Thais work and live there.

Evacuating them by sea to the nearby Mediterranean island of Malta, available ships can transport 1,200 people at a time, Jirasak said.

Until present, there has been no report on casualties of Thai people although clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces keep continuing, according to Jirasak.

There are 30 companies sending Thais to work in Libya. Some companies on Monday chartered a flight to evacuate about 50 Thai workers there, but the plane could not make a landing due to the rioting.