Several people remain missing after a boat carrying about 60 people capsized near the Lebanese port of Tripoli
At least six people have died, including a child, and 48 people were rescued after a boat carrying about 60 migrants sank off the coast of Lebanon, where deadly sea crossings have spiralled due to an economic crisis.
“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 on Sunday.
“Most people on board were rescued,” the army said, without specifying their nationalities.
The army retrieved five corpses off Tripoli’s coast on Sunday, the state-run National News Agency reported, hours after the body of a little girl was returned to shore.
Haissam Dannaoui, the head of Lebanon’s naval forces, told a news conference on Sunday that the 10-metre (33-foot) boat built in 1974 was designed to only accommodate six passengers, but it was crammed with nearly 60 would-be migrants and took to sea without any safety precautions.
Dannaoui said the army tried to thwart the smuggling operation before the ship sailed out of the Qalamoun region, south of Tripoli, but could not reach the departure point in time.
An ensuing sea chase saw two naval patrols trying to force the migrant boat to turn back.
“Unfortunately, the captain [of the migrant boat] decided to carry out manoeuvres to escape,” leading to the vessel crashing into the patrol ships, Dannaoui said.
The impact cracked the hull of the migrant boat, which quickly submerged, he said.
“In less than five seconds, the boat was under water,” Dannaoui said, adding that passengers were quickly handed life jackets.
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