The first shipload of Canadians fleeing Lebanon on vessels chartered by Ottawa has arrived in Cyprus, but many passengers complained of a harrowing journey with no food or water, and little help from officials.

Many of the 261 passengers aboard the Blue Dawn were very unhappy as they disembarked in Larnaca on Thursday after a 15-hour journey from Beirut, said CBC correspondent Susan Ormiston, who was at the port.

The Blue Dawn, arriving in Cyprus on Thursday, is one of seven ships that Ottawa chartered to help Canadians in Lebanon flee Israeli military strikes.
(CBC)

Some Canadians complained they had been treated like animals, she said.

"We were greeted with swearing," Ormiston said.

"We heard some get off that boat saying, 'Thank God for Canada,' but there were many more very stressed. There was not enough food on board, there was not enough water.

"These people are happy to be here, out of Lebanon, but they have gone through a harrowing journey."

Forced to sleep on floor

One woman, who declined to give her name, said in French that the trip "was hell."

Some of the passengers were forced to sleep on the floor and some vomited in the heat, Caroline Nohra of Montreal told the Canadian Press.

Nohra also said it seemed there was no medical staff on board.

Stopped twice by Israeli navy

Elie Maalouf, another Montreal resident who was on the Blue Dawn, said the journey took much longer than expected.

After the vessel left Beirut late Wednesday, it took at least 15 hours to reach Larnaca, with the Israel's naval blockade stopping the ship twice during the trip, Maalouf said. 

The Blue Dawn is one of seven ships that Ottawa chartered to help many of the estimated 50,000 Canadian citizens in Lebanon flee violence from an Israeli offensive that entered its ninth day on Thursday.

4 shiploads of Canadians left Thursday

Four more of the ships left the Lebanese capital on Thursday, heading for Turkey. Two others were expected to arrive in Beirut during the day.

Canadians have been desperate to escape the Israeli military strikes that began after Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants crossed the border into Israel on July 12 and attacked an army outpost, killing eight soldiers and capturing two others.

On Thursday, Israel continued to pound Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the militants responded with rocket attacks against northern Israel, and Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants clashed in southern Lebanon.

Foreign Affairs fields complaints, praise

Alex McNiven, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs who was in Cyprus to help process the Canadians, said he received many complaints.

However, he added, some of the passengers expressed gratitude that the government chartered ships to get Canadians out of Lebanon.

In Cyprus, the Canadians had their travel documents checked by Cypriot immigration officials, then went to a processing centre, where Canadian officials checked their identification.

Ormiston also described a last-minute scramble by Canadian officials as they prepared to receive the first boatload of Canadians in Cyprus. The officials told her they were not entirely sure who was on board because of confusion at the port of Beirut.

Canadians to be flown from Cyprus

The Canadians on the Blue Dawn will be flown back to Canada.

About 100 of them will fly on a Canadian government plane that had been carrying Prime Minister Stephen Harper on a week-long diplomatic tour to Europe and Russia. Harper flew to Cyprus on Wednesday after changing plans to help Canadians get home.

The rest will be flown to Canada on flights chartered by Ottawa.

Air Canada and Air Transat have been commissioned to help bring the Canadians home, according to the Canadian Press.

The government was working out a plan that would see Air Canada fly Canadians from Cyprus and Turkey, while Air Transat would fly Canadians from Turkey, the news agency said.