One child has died but more than 40 people have been saved after the sinking of a boat off the coast of Lebanon’s northern port city of Tripoli on Saturday, according to the country’s Transport Minister Ali Hamie.
The Lebanese Red Cross said in a tweet that there were about 60 people onboard.
The Lebanese government said in a statement that the Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, is following the sinking of the boat carrying passengers that departed from the Qalamoun area, south of Tripoli.
Lebanon’s economic crisis has pushed Lebanese as well as Syrian refugees to try the dangerous sea journey to Europe on small dinghies.
Tripoli is Lebanon’s second city and the poorest on the Mediterranean, according to the United Nations’ UN-Habitat programme.
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