Dozens missing after boat disaster

LEBANESE rescue teams searched the Mediterranean for survivors yesterday after an overloaded people-smuggling boat capsized while being pursued by naval forces, with dozens unaccounted for still missing at sea.

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 body of a woman was retrieved yesterday.

The Lebanese army said that 48 people had been rescued, but it was not clear exactly how many would-be asylum-seekers were crammed on to the boat when it set off.

The UN refugee agency said the boat was carrying at least 84 people when it capsized, about 5.5km off the coast of Tripoli. About 30 people are still unaccounted for. The passengers included Syrian and Palestinian refugees but most were Lebanese.

The circumstances that led the small and overloaded craft to sink were not entirely clear, with some survivors claiming the navy rammed into their boat, and officials insisting the smuggler attempted reckless escape manoeuvres.

Lebanon was once a transit point for asylum-seekers from elsewhere, but now the UN says more than 1 500 would-be asylum seekers had tried to leave Lebanon illegally by sea since the start of 2021.