The death toll in the shipping disaster off the coast of Syria has risen from 71 to 86, Syrian authorities report. On Thursday evening, a boat carrying about 150 migrants overturned in Syrian waters. According to the coastguard, the boat had left northern Lebanon a few days ago and was en route to Europe. At least 20 people have been rescued and are in hospitals in Syria. The shipping disaster is one of the deadliest incidents involving Lebanese migrants in years.
According to local media, the boat departed from Tripoli, not far from the Syrian border, for Cyprus on Tuesday morning. The boat is said to have sunk off the Syrian island of Arwad, about 45 kilometers north of the starting point. Syrian fishermen found the first bodies and survivors. Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamiye described the boat as “very small” and made of wood.
In recent years, there has been a spike in illegal emigration from Lebanon as a result of the deep economic crisis in the country. According to the UN Refugee Agency, the number of people leaving Lebanon by sea will double in 2021 from a year earlier. In 2022, that number rose again by more than 70 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinians in particular are trying to flee from extreme poverty and political unrest.