Damascus: Eighty-nine bodies have been found since a boat carrying migrants from Lebanon sank off the coast of Syria, Syrian state media said on Saturday, as the Lebanese army said it had arrested a suspected smuggler behind one of the deadliest recent shipwrecks in the east of the country. Mediterranean.
Philip Grandithe United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), called it a “heartbreaking tragedy”.
At least 14 rescued people were recovering in hospitals in Syria while six others were released, as search efforts continued, with several people still missing since the sinking of the boat on Thursday.
“There are 89 casualties, while 14 people are receiving treatment at Al-Basel Hospital, two of whom are in intensive care,” Syria’s official SANA news agency reported, citing Iskandar Ammara hospital official.
The Lebanese army said it arrested a Lebanese man who “admitted to having organized the recent smuggling operation from Lebanon to Italy by sea”.
Lebanon, a country that hosts more than a million refugees from the Syrian civil war, has since 2019 been mired in a financial crisis described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern times.
It has become a launching pad for illegal migration, with its own citizens joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees clamoring to leave.
As many as 150 people were on board the small boat which sank off the Syrian port of Tartous, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Tripoli in Lebanon, from where the migrants set sail.
Those on board were mostly Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, and included both children and the elderly, the UN said.
Lebanese families were due to hold a second day of funerals on Saturday after receiving the bodies of their loved ones on Friday evening through the Arida border crossing with Syria.
Since 2020, Lebanon has seen an increase in the number of migrants using its shores to attempt the perilous crossing in crowded boats to reach Europe.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF said it had received initial reports that 10 children were “among those who lost their lives” in the latest disaster.
“Years of political instability and economic crisis in Lebanon have plunged many children and families into poverty, affecting their health, well-being and education,” UNICEF added.
Philippe Lazzarinihead of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, said: “No one boards these death boats lightly. People make these perilous decisions, risking their lives in pursuit of dignity.”
Lazzarini said more needs to be done “to deliver a better future and address the sense of hopelessness in Lebanon and across the region, including among Palestinian refugees.”
Antonio Vitorinohead of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said: “People seeking safety should not be forced to undertake such perilous and often deadly migratory journeys.”
Most boats leaving Lebanon head for European Union member Cyprus, an island about 175 kilometers (110 miles) to the west.
Philip Grandithe United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), called it a “heartbreaking tragedy”.
At least 14 rescued people were recovering in hospitals in Syria while six others were released, as search efforts continued, with several people still missing since the sinking of the boat on Thursday.
“There are 89 casualties, while 14 people are receiving treatment at Al-Basel Hospital, two of whom are in intensive care,” Syria’s official SANA news agency reported, citing Iskandar Ammara hospital official.
The Lebanese army said it arrested a Lebanese man who “admitted to having organized the recent smuggling operation from Lebanon to Italy by sea”.
Lebanon, a country that hosts more than a million refugees from the Syrian civil war, has since 2019 been mired in a financial crisis described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern times.
It has become a launching pad for illegal migration, with its own citizens joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees clamoring to leave.
As many as 150 people were on board the small boat which sank off the Syrian port of Tartous, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Tripoli in Lebanon, from where the migrants set sail.
Those on board were mostly Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, and included both children and the elderly, the UN said.
Lebanese families were due to hold a second day of funerals on Saturday after receiving the bodies of their loved ones on Friday evening through the Arida border crossing with Syria.
Since 2020, Lebanon has seen an increase in the number of migrants using its shores to attempt the perilous crossing in crowded boats to reach Europe.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF said it had received initial reports that 10 children were “among those who lost their lives” in the latest disaster.
“Years of political instability and economic crisis in Lebanon have plunged many children and families into poverty, affecting their health, well-being and education,” UNICEF added.
Philippe Lazzarinihead of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, said: “No one boards these death boats lightly. People make these perilous decisions, risking their lives in pursuit of dignity.”
Lazzarini said more needs to be done “to deliver a better future and address the sense of hopelessness in Lebanon and across the region, including among Palestinian refugees.”
Antonio Vitorinohead of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said: “People seeking safety should not be forced to undertake such perilous and often deadly migratory journeys.”
Most boats leaving Lebanon head for European Union member Cyprus, an island about 175 kilometers (110 miles) to the west.
