Six bodies of migrants, including a child, were found after a boat carrying about 60 migrants sank off the Lebanese coast on Saturday, the official National News Agency reported on Sunday.
On Sunday, the Lebanese army recovered five bodies of migrants after the body of a girl was recovered, on Saturday, bringing the number of victims of the sinking of the boat to six, according to a provisional toll. According to the authorities, 50 people were rescued after the boat sank, which was carrying about 60 migrants, whose nationalities were not specified.
An AFP correspondent in northern Lebanon reported that the army closed the port and allowed only ambulances to enter and exit.
People from the families of some passengers gathered to check on their relatives, but they were also prevented from entering the port.
“This happened because of the politicians who forced the unemployed Lebanese to leave the country,” said a man waiting for news of a relative outside the port.
Lebanon, with a population of nearly six million, is suffering an unprecedented financial crisis, which the World Bank says is on a scale usually witnessed by countries living in wars. The lira has lost more than 90 percent of its purchasing value, and the majority of the population lives below the poverty line.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says that at least 1,570 people, including 186 Lebanese, left Lebanon or attempted to leave irregularly by sea between January and November 2021.
Most of the irregular migrants head to the island of Cyprus, a member of the European Union, which is 175 km from the coast of Lebanon.
The number of these migrants in 2019 reached about 270, including 40 Lebanese.
Most of those trying to leave Lebanon by sea are Syrian refugees, but the number of Lebanese among them is increasing.