At least 86 migrants died after the boat they were traveling in sank off the Syrian coast, the country’s state media reported.
Twenty survivors have been taken to hospital as rescuers continue to search for missing passengers. Officials said Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian nationals – including women and children – would be among the 120 to 150 people on board.
As the boat sinks off the Syrian coast, it is not known what caused the accident.
Officials added that the vessel left Minyeh, a town near the Lebanese port city of Tripoli, before sinking near the Syrian island of Arwad near Tartus.
It is believed the boat was en route to Cyprus when it sank. Tartus, where survivors were transported, is approximately 30 km north of Tripolis. The Syrian news agency Sana said that the authorities had transferred the corpses of the victims not identified in the crossing passage in order to put them back to the Lebanese Red Cross.
Nearly two hours later, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), reported that the number of people drowned has reached 26, including two women and three children, adding that “The fate of nearly 100 more people remains unknown.”
Earlier this month, six people, including children, were killed when a boat carrying migrants from Lebanon to Europe sank off the coast of Turkey. The country’s coast guard said 73 migrants from four boats had been rescued.
