Lebanese Army and rescue teams searched the Mediterranean for survivors Monday after an overloaded people-smuggling boat capsized while being pursued by naval forces, with dozens unaccounted for still missing at sea.
The search and rescue operations carried out by the Lebanese Army are continuing “by land, sea and air,” the army command said on its Twitter account on Monday.
At least seven people died as a result of the tragedy, which occurred late Saturday just off the coast of the northern port city of Tripoli.
It was Lebanon’s worst such disaster in years, igniting widespread rage just three weeks before May 15 parliamentary elections.
The latest body was retrieved on Monday morning.
“The body of a woman from the Al-Nimr family was recovered today from the Tripoli beach,” the director general of Tripoli Port Ahmed Tamer told AFP, adding that rescue efforts were ongoing.
The Lebanese army said on Sunday that 48 people had been rescued, but it was not immediately clear exactly how many would-be asylum seekers were crammed onto the boat when it set off.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said the boat was carrying at least 84 people when it capsized, about three nautical miles (3.5 miles, 5.5 kilometres) off the coast of Tripoli.
According to UNHCR figures, that means potentially some 30 people are still unaccounted for.
The passengers included Syrian and Palestinian refugees but most were Lebanese, local media reported.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced a national day of mourning on Monday.
Source: AFP and NNA
