At least 51 migrants drowned off the coast of the northwestern Syrian city of Tartus on Thursday after they sailed from Lebanon, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
According to the Syrian Ministry of Health, the number of victims is 34 people.
The source said: “Rescue teams continue to search for the missing from the death boat at sea (…) and rescue teams have found more bodies.”
He added: “The number of drowned people has risen to at least 51, and the search for the missing continues.”
He pointed out that “a Syrian regime helicopter equipped with flashlights began searching for the missing six hours after the boat sank on Thursday.”
The Syrian Ministry of Health said in a statement: “The number of victims of the sunken boat has risen to 34, with 20 people being treated at the Al-Bazel hospital in Tartus.”
Previous figures reported by the ministry indicated that 28 migrants had died.
The statement explained that most of the survivors are receiving oxygen assistance and some have been transferred to intensive care, emphasizing the vigilance of all medical personnel in the area.
And Syrian television reported that there were at least 150 people on the boat.
Earlier, Director General of Seaports Brigadier General Samer Kobaresli, quoted in a statement by survivors at the Syrian Ministry of Transportation, said that “the boat departed from Lebanon – Minieh (North) a few days ago with the intention of emigrating,” with passengers of several nationalities on board.
Kibrosley added that the first body of a young man found was near the island of Arvad, opposite the city of Tartus, around 13:30 GMT, adding that among the victims was a child whose age was not specified.
– Lebanese on a boat –
A Syrian official confirmed that rescue teams were sent to the site of the sinking in an attempt to find other survivors.
“Our cadres are now working hard to save the sea boat in a place opposite the Al Mentar area and opposite Arwad, as well as in several places on Tartus beach,” he said.
However, in the evening, due to heavy seas, searches at sea were stopped.
For his part, Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamiya said on Twitter that his Syrian counterpart Zuhair Khuzaym told him that “a Russian helicopter is currently conducting a survey of the site where the ship sank.”
In another tweet, Hamia indicated that “the boat is carrying Lebanese” but did not specify their number.
Cypriusli had previously indicated that immigrants were of different nationalities, without providing further details.
Lebanon, with a population of 4.5 million, is hosting 1.5 million Syrian refugees fleeing a war that has torn their country apart for more than 10 years. In addition, there are tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, most of them in 12 camps.
Since 2019, Lebanon has been experiencing one of the worst economic crises internationally since 1850, fueled by mismanagement and corruption by a ruling class that has remained virtually unchanged for decades, according to the World Bank, according to the World Bank.
With deteriorating economic and living conditions, the number of migrants trying to escape by sea has doubled, and their destination is often the island of Cyprus, a European country off the Lebanese coast.
And in April last year, a ship carrying migrants sank off Tripoli, north, killing six of them, causing great discontent in the troubled country.
Since 2020, at least 38 boats carrying more than 1,500 people have either left or attempted to leave Lebanon by sea, according to the United Nations.
On September 13, the Turkish coast guard reported the deaths of six migrants, including two children, in the Aegean Sea, and another 73 people were rescued while trying to reach Italy after they set off from Tripoli in northern Lebanon.
The Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said they are cracking down on illegal immigration by sea.