TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The Lebanese army found another body from a migrant shipwreck in the sea off Lebanon’s northern coast overnight, a port official told Reuters on Monday, bringing the death toll up to seven as rescue efforts continue.
Late on Saturday a small dinghy carrying around 60 people sunk off the coast near the port city of Tripoli. The authorities say more than 45 have already been rescued.
The head of the Tripoli’s port authority Ahmad Tamer told Reuters that search operations were ongoing.
“The rescue operations went all night and the Lebanese army was able to find the body of a woman. The total number of victims is now seven,” Tamer said.
Those on board were Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, Tamer said. The army has said the dinghy capsized due to being overcrowded.
Lebanon’s economic crisis has seen the local currency lose more than 90 percent of its value and pushed waves of Lebanese as well as Syrian refugees to try the dangerous sea journey to Europe on small dinghies.
Over the weekend relatives of the victims gathered in agitated crowds outside hospitals in Tripoli where the injured were being treated.
On Monday morning, a few men waited outside the port on Monday morning in the hope of finding out about missing loved ones.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
