Ambulances transporting the bodies of shipwrecked people from a boat off the Syrian coast cross the Arida border crossing between Syria and Lebanon on September 23, 2022. FATHI AL-MASRI / AFP
At least 89 migrants trying to reach Europe illegally drowned off the coast of Syria after their boat from Lebanon sank, official Syrian news agency SANA said on Saturday, September 24, a still preliminary report.
“Fourteen people are recovering at Al-Basel Hospital, two of them in intensive care,” an official at Al-Basel Hospital in the western Syrian port city of Tartous told SANA agency. An earlier report released on Friday reported 73 dead.
According to the Syrian authorities, there were around 150 people, mainly Lebanese as well as Syrian and Palestinian refugees, on board the small boat that sank off the coast of Tartus on Thursday. Samer Kbrasli, director general of Syrian ports, said 20 migrants had been rescued. Ten children were among the shipwrecked, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Saturday.
Many Lebanese passengers on the boat come from poor regions in the north of the country, including the city of Tripoli, which has become a hub of illegal immigration in the Mediterranean, particularly for Syrian refugees, but also a growing number of Lebanese.
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Deadliest shipwreck in recent years in the region
It is the deadliest shipwreck in recent years between Syria, which has been ravaged by more than 11 years of conflict, and Lebanon, which the World Bank says is experiencing one of the world’s worst economic crises since 1850.
“The Lebanese population lives in dire conditions, but the situation is particularly serious for the most vulnerable, including refugees,” UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr said on Saturday.
On Friday, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi lamented “a new heartbreaking tragedy” and called on the international community to “improve the conditions of people who are being forced to flee their countries and of communities who are… record them . “.
“Those who board these makeshift boats (…) risk their lives in search of dignity,” said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations agency responsible for aid to Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). “We must do more to (…) help the Lebanese and other people in the region overcome the sense of desperation. »
After Lebanon’s economic collapse, Syrian and Palestinian refugees and Lebanese have attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea in makeshift boats to seek refuge in European countries, including the island of Cyprus, 175 kilometers from the Lebanese coast. In April, the sinking of an overloaded migrant boat being pursued by the Lebanese Navy off Tripoli (north) killed dozens and provoked great anger in the crisis-ridden country.
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