Ambulances at the port of Tartous during the rescue operation for survivors, Syria, September 22, 2022. SALEH SLIMAN / SALEH SLIMAN VIA Portal
At least 53 migrants have drowned off the coast of Syria after a boat bound for Lebanon sank, Lebanon’s Transport Minister Ali Hamie said on Friday (September 23).
More than 100 people, mostly Lebanese and Syrians, were on board the small boat that capsized off the port city of Tartus on Thursday, meaning dozens of people are still missing, the minister added. An earlier report Thursday night reported 34 dead.
“According to survivors, the boat left Minieh port [distant d’une cinquantaine de kilomètres de Tartous], in northern Lebanon, a few days ago,” Syrian Ports Director-General Samer Kbrasli said in a statement released Thursday by the Ministry of Transport. “Most of the victims are on oxygen and some of them have been transferred to intensive care,” the same source added, stressing that all caregivers in the area have been mobilized.
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Live anger in the country
Due to the severe economic crisis that has plunged Lebanon, Syrian and Palestinian refugees, as well as Lebanese, have in recent months attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea in makeshift boats towards European countries, particularly to the island of Cyprus, which is 175 kilometers away from the Lebanese Coast.
In April, the sinking of an overloaded migrant boat being pursued by the Lebanese Navy off Tripoli (north) killed six people and sparked widespread anger in the country. According to the United Nations, at least 38 boats carrying more than 1,500 people have illegally left or attempted to leave Lebanon by sea since 2020.
On September 13, the Turkish Coast Guard reported the deaths of six migrants, including two infants, and rescued 73 people trying to reach Europe off Mugla province (south-west). Their nationality was not immediately revealed, but they are said to have been embarked from the Lebanese port of Tripoli to try to reach Italy, the Coast Guard reported, citing people rescued.
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