International SOS reports it has evacuated another 114 clients from Beirut to Damascus.
This is the third in a series of company organised evacuations that started last Saturday. Onward travel for the latest evacuees is being organised to nearby Cyprus, Jeddha and as far afield as the USA.
What they say
Des Donnelly from the International SOS Client Liaison team on the ground in Larnaca says: “The evacuation operation has been a complex one. Our Lebanon Crisis Management team – numbering 50 people across different alarm centres and on the ground – have worked round the clock to achieve the mission of providing support to our clients and moving them to a safe environment.
“An operation such as this is never easy for the evacuees and International SOS has made every effort to ensure their comfort and security, including security specialists travelling with them to provide reassurance and advice, finding accommodation in Damascus and Larnaca, and even the human touch of providing refreshments, and colouring books and crayons for the children on the long journey.”
Dr Ghazi Ghanem from the University of Texas who was evacuated said: “I am grateful that I am out of harm’s way and in safe hands and relieved that my organisation is a member of International SOS.”
Bob Rushton, Regional Security Director for medical and other services firm International SOS, who has been directing the operation from London, adds: “We are continuing to monitor the situation and providing support to members with staff and family remaining in Lebanon. International SOS is also working closely with the Foreign Commonwealth Office in their evacuation of other British nationals out of Lebanon.”
The company’s teams have carried out evacuation operations over the last week on the ground in Beirut, Damascus and Larnaca. They have been working with local providers on the ground, the firm’s regional alarm centres in London, Paris, Philadelphia and its security centre in Dubai, plus aviation organisations to successfully escort clients to safety, through overland transport and charter aircraft.
International SOS’ Travel Locator Service (TLS), an internet based service enabling clients to proactively track their current and future travellers globally, experienced a 300pc increase in logins when the Lebanon and Israel conflict escalated last Tuesday, July 11. Clients logged on to gauge exposure of their staff to the situation.
