A Maltese man has been abducted in Tripoli.  The man, 36-year-old Pierre Baldacchino, from Marsaxlokk, is the general manager of St James Hospital.

Mr Baldacchino, a father of two girls, was kidnapped at around 5pm. He was expected to be back in Malta for Christmas.

The Maltese government is currently working on ways to secure Mr Baldacchino’s release. A spokesman for the government said that information about the abduction reached Malta last night.

In a statement, the government said that after receiving the information, the government said that it made contact with the man's family and the Libyan authorities.

The government called for people to be cautious for the case to be resolved as quickly as possible and in the best way possible.

It reiterated its advice for Maltese people not to travel to Libya.

The Malta Independent sent a number of questions to St James Hospital CEO Jean Claude Muscat, who said that the company “is not in a positon to provide any information at this time.”

In the meantime several of Mr Baldacchino's friends and colleagues have posted messages of support on his Facebook page. 

Mr Baldacchino is not the first Maltese national to have been abducted in Libya. In July 2014, Martin Galea was abducted by militiamen and held for 11 days before his release was negotiated. He had told the Malta Independent how his captors tortured him and how he overheard them plot his execution.

Last October, a Maltese man was held for 47 days before he was freed from his captors by a militia near Tripoli. Noel Sciberras, director of a company which administers car parks, was abducted by a gang in Tajoura.