At least 73 people have died in the sinking of a boat carrying illegal immigrants off the Syrian coast, the highest since the start of the crisis-ridden illegal immigration phenomenon from Lebanon.
Illegal immigration is not a new phenomenon in Lebanon, which has served as a springboard for refugees, especially Syrians, towards the European Union. However, its pace has picked up in light of the economic collapse that has plagued Lebanon for almost three years now, and which has prompted many Lebanese to risk their lives in search of new beginnings.
On Thursday, Syrian authorities found dozens of bodies near the coastal city of Tartus, and 20 people were rescued from a boat from northern Lebanon. The number of passengers is estimated to range from 100 to 150 people, but this is not clear. after the circumstances of his death.
And Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Gubash announced in a statement that the number of victims of the wreck has reached 73 “with undetermined losses”, explaining that the number of “people receiving treatment at Al-Basel Hospital (in Tartus) is 20”.
And Lebanese interim government labor and transport minister Ali Hamia previously told Agence France-Presse that 61 people had died, explaining that most of the more than 100 passengers were Lebanese and Syrian refugees.
According to official Syrian television, there were at least 150 people on the boat, which means dozens were missing.
Most of the bodies have yet to be identified, Hamia said, as no identification papers have been found.
“We are dealing with one of the largest rescue operations in the territory, which stretches along the entire Syrian coast,” said Suleiman Khalil, a spokesman for the Syrian Ministry of Transport, noting that search operations are ongoing, but “it is becoming more and more difficult over time due to high waves.
On Thursday afternoon, a young man was discovered near the ships anchored off the port of the Syrian island of Arvad, so a boat was sent to the site, after which the body of the child was found, before “the bodies of the victims began to appear,” the report said. statement by the director general of Syrian ports, Samer Kobarli.
Most of the victims were found off the island of Arvad and off the coast of Tartus.
Families in Lebanon began burying their dead on Friday, including the Talavi family, whose son Wissam was rescued and is currently being treated at a Tartus hospital, while his two daughters (age five and nine) died and his wife and two died. the other children are still missing.
The family received, according to Wissam Ahmed’s brother, the bodies of the two girls and they were buried at their birthplace in the Akkar region (north).
“We woke up and couldn’t find my brother, who works for a cleaning company,” Ahmed told AFP by phone. “He couldn’t make ends meet,” so he went in search of another life.
– “Organized Migration” – Syrian state television reported the arrival of the charge d’affaires of the Lebanese embassy at the Al-Bazel hospital in Tartus, where the survivors, some of whom are in intensive care, were transferred.
The phenomenon of illegal immigration from northern Lebanon has become active in recent years. And often the destination of the boats is Cyprus, a European country located off the coast of Lebanon.
It all started with Syrian and Palestinian refugees who did not hesitate to undertake this perilous journey in search of new beginnings, before the Lebanese joined them after the economic crisis that the country has been experiencing for almost three years and which has been classified by the World Bank among the worst in the world. .
Boats from northern Lebanon sank at sea this year, killing dozens of people. The sinking of a boat carrying dozens of missing people in April caused widespread discontent in Lebanon. At the first stage, six dead were found, and the bodies of the rest are still deep in the sea, and attempts to raise them were unsuccessful.
The measures taken by the security forces did not lead to curbing the phenomenon, which became “organized illegal immigration” on a diet. The Lebanese security services and military have repeatedly said they have thwarted an attempted illegal immigration, especially from the poorer areas of Tripoli and Akkara in the north.
Between January and November 2021, at least 38 boats with more than 1,500 people left or attempted to leave Lebanon by sea, according to the UN.