BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon yesterday rescued over 50 people, mostly Syrians, from a sinking migrant boat off the country’s north coast, the army said.
The military obtained “information about a vessel that was sinking off the coast of Tripoli while it was being used for illegal people smuggling”, the army said in a statement, referring to a city in north Lebanon.
Naval forces were able to “rescue 51 people aboard, including two Palestinians and 49 Syrians”, the statement added. The Lebanese Red Cross helped provide assistance to those rescued, according to the statement, which did not specify where the boat was headed.
Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees leaving by boat from Lebanon are generally seeking a better life in Europe, and often head for the east Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
Lebanon hosts around two million Syrians, authorities said, while some 800,000 are registered with the United Nations.
Lebanese nationals have also been making the treacherous voyage towards Europe alongside Syrians fleeing war and economic woes in their country, as well as Palestinian refugees.
