The migrant boat that sank off the Syrian coast on Thursday killed 94 people. Syrian state television made the announcement on Saturday after more bodies were washed ashore along the country’s coast.
Rescuers had previously recovered 86 bodies. At least 20 people have been rescued and are in hospitals in Syria. There may have been a total of 120-150 people on the ship, survivors said.
According to local media, the ship left Tripoli, not far from the Syrian border, for Cyprus on Tuesday morning. According to the UN, there were people of different nationalities on board, including many Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians. Press Agency Reuters reports that this is the deadliest drama ever involving a ship of migrants from Lebanon.
The boat is said to have sunk 45 kilometers north of the Syrian island of Arwad. How this could have happened is unclear. The first bodies and survivors were taken by Syrian fishermen, who alerted the authorities in the Syrian port of Tartus.
Lebanon recently witnessed a peak in emigration due to a deep economic crisis. Furthermore, large numbers of Syrian refugees have settled in tiny Lebanon over the past decade.
The number of people leaving or attempting to leave Lebanon by sea nearly doubled in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the UN refugee agency, and again increased by more than 70% in 2022 compared to the same period in ‘Last year.
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