A migrant boat sank off the coast of Lebanon, killing at least six people, including a young child, but almost 50 others were rescued, according to state media.
The boat capsized on Saturday night near Tripoli, Libya’s northern port city, where a growing number of individuals are attempting a potentially fatal sea escape.
The fatal catastrophe, which occurred only weeks before parliamentary elections set for May 15, is not the first of its sort in the crisis-plagued country, which is experiencing its worst-ever financial collapse.
“The army’s naval forces managed to rescue 48 people and retrieve the body of a dead girl from a boat that sank while trying to illegally smuggle them out,” the army said in a statement.
According to the report, the boat capsized as it sailed out of the Qalamoun region south of Tripoli due to overcrowding and high water levels that nearly inundated the vessel.
One guy has been arrested, according to the army, for his alleged involvement in the smuggling operation.
The army rescued five bodies off the coast of Tripoli on Sunday, according to the state-run National News Agency, reducing a previous figure of eight dead. The body of a little girl was returned to shore hours earlier.
Lebanon, which has a “turnback” agreement with Cyprus to prevent crossings, is in the grip of a financial disaster unprecedented in its history, with the currency losing more than 90% of its value and the majority of the population living below the poverty line
The economic downturn has resulted in an increase in sea crossings out of the nation, with a growing number of Lebanese joining the ranks of Syrian and Palestinian refugees attempting to enter Europe illegally.
According to the UN refugee agency, between January and November 2021, at least 1,570 persons, 186 of whom were Lebanese, escaped or attempted to exit Lebanon illegally by water.
Lebanon’s public works and transport minister, Ali Hamie, who visited Tripoli’s port after the latest incident called it a “great catastrophe”.
Meanwhile, plans for protests outside Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s Tripoli house on Sunday have gone viral on social media.
Related posts:
Migrant boat capsizes off Libya, 90 feared dead, mostly Pakistanis
At least 100 feared dead as boat capsizes off Libya
At least 20 persons dead after boat capsizes in Uganda waters
At least 5 dead, 15 rescued in Lagos boat mishap
Rig capsizes in Delta, 92 rescued, one dead, three missing
Boat carrying more than seventeen passengers capsizes in Lagos, two confirmed dead
Four dead after tourist boat capsizes in Northern Italian lake
41 migrants feared dead after boat capsizes off coast of Italy
