At least 34 dead after migrant boat sinks off Syria

• At least 34 migrants perished when the boat they were on capsized off the coast of Syria.
• Sea-level search activities were delayed due to extremely high waves.
• Rescue crews were deployed to the area, but operations were halted due to high waves and bad weather.

At least 34 migrants perished when the boat they were on capsized off the coast of Syria after leaving neighboring Lebanon, the authorities in Damascus announced on Thursday, adding that the death toll could climb.

Lebanon, which shelters more than a million refugees from the civil conflict in Syria, has been embroiled in economic catastrophe for the past three years, increasing clandestine attempts to enter the European Union.

An official estimated that the vessel was carrying up to 150 people, and authorities said that 20 survivors were sent to a hospital, potentially leaving many people unaccounted for.

It was also stated that sea-level search activities were delayed due to extremely high waves.

“The number of people found dead has risen to 34,” the Syrian Ministry of Health stated in a statement, adding that 20 survivors were being treated at the Al-Basel hospital in Tartus and emphasizing that the figure was provisional.

The majority of hospitalized patients have received oxygen support, and some have been transferred to critical care, according to the report.

Syrian authorities initially claimed 15 fatalities before raising the number to 28 and, shortly after that, an additional six.

“According to survivors, their boat left Lebanon days ago,” said Samer Kbrasli, head of Syrian ports, adding that between 120 and 150 people were on board before it drowned.

According to reports, at least one youngster was among the deceased.

Tartus is the most southern of Syria’s major ports and is located around 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Lebanese port city Tripoli.

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“Air search in progress”

Rescue crews were deployed to the location to locate further survivors, but “the search in the waters was halted in the evening due to high waves,” Kbrasli explained.

“Outposts deployed along the coast… continue to monitor the situation.”

Ali Hamie, the Lebanese minister of transportation, tweeted that Syrian authorities had told him that an airborne search involving a Russian helicopter was proceeding.

He stated, without specifying a number, that Lebanese nationals were on board.

According to the Syrian ministry of transport, information from survivors indicates that the boat set sail from Miniyeh, a town north of Tripoli.

Last year, there was an increase in the number of would-be migrants utilizing Lebanon’s coastlines to make the risky trip to Europe in overcrowded boats.

In April, the sinking of an overcrowded migrant boat off the northern coast of Tripoli while being pursued by the Lebanese navy resulted in the deaths of six people and infuriated many in the country.

Some onboard claimed that the navy rammed their ship, although officials asserted that the smugglers tried dangerous escape maneuvers. The Beirut government ordered a probe.

Off the coast of the southwestern province of Mugla on September 13, the Turkish coastguard reported the deaths of six migrants, including two infants, and rescued 73 others attempting to reach Europe.

According to reports, they embarked in Tripoli, Lebanon, in an attempt to reach Italy.

Most boats departing from Lebanon travel to Cyprus, an island 175 kilometers (110 miles) away and a member of the European Union.

Many people leaving Lebanon are Syrians, but the intensifying economic crisis has prompted an increasing number of Lebanese to make the crossing as well.

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