'We will try again': almost 100 people drown trying to illegally cross into Europe by boat from Lebanon

The death toll of people drowned after their boat sank off the Syrian coast has risen to 94, Syrian official media outlets have reported. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army announced the arrest of a suspect in the smuggling operation, which resulted in the highest death toll since the beginning of illegal immigration from Lebanon.

Mourners chant slogans as they carry the coffin of Palestinian Abdul-Al Omar Abdul-Al, 24, who was on a boat carrying migrants from Lebanon that sank in Syrian waters. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) Source: AP / Bilal Hussein/AP

The number of victims of the sinking of the migrant boat near the Syrian coast continues to rise, reaching 94 victims with the majority found near Arwad Island and the shores of Tartus.

This is the highest toll since the beginning of the phenomenon of illegal immigration from Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army announced the arrest of a suspect in the smuggling operation, while Director General of Maritime Ports, Samer Qabresli, confirmed to the official Syrian News Agency (SANA) earlier that the number of victims of the boat had risen from 86.

Until now, the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the boat carrying up to 150 people, including Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, have been unclear.

SBS Arabic24 spoke to one survivor of the boat tragedy who said: “The number of passengers was much higher than the boat's capacity.

He said that at first, there were problems with the boat's engine due to water entering it but the group had decided to keep going.

"The boat was swaying. The young men on board tried to balance the boat but a big wave came and flipped it over,” he said.

Not everyone had life jackets. I wasn't wearing one but was able to hold on to the back of the boat.

Families in Lebanon paid tribute to their victims on Friday. On the same evening, Lebanese and Palestinian families received the bodies of their relatives through the Arida border crossing to be buried on Saturday.

According to initial reports, 45 children were among the victims who died in the incident.

“As in many countries in the region, people in Lebanon live in harsh conditions that affect everyone, but are especially harsher for the most vulnerable people,” the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement.

“This is another painful tragedy,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in a statement, calling on the international community to provide full assistance in order to "...improve the conditions of forcibly displaced persons and host communities in the Middle East."

One Palestinian survivor said that the boat was overloaded with 176 passengers, some aged in their 70s and 80s, despite the fact that it could only safely accommodate 120 in addition to carrying large quantities of fuel and food.

“People seeking safety should not find themselves having to go through risky and deadly migration journeys,” said Antonio Vitorino, Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Another survivor blamed the political class that has not changed in decades in Lebanon and continued: “We do not yet have accurate information because no one communicates with us. We are trying to contact President Najib Mikati. There is no water or electricity in our city. We do not want to eat, we only want to drink and bathe.”

Listen to more live testimonies and the report of our correspondent from Beirut, Antoine Salama, in the audio file attached to the image above.

With AFP

Did you like the article? Listen to the “Good Morning Australia” program from Monday to Friday from 6am to 9am Eastern Standard Time via digital radio and the SBS Radio app, which is available for free on Apple and Android.

Complete the conversation through our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.