Tripoli, Europe Brief News – A migrant boat carrying over 60 passengers sank in the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, and many persons are still missing.
There were at least six deaths and 48 survivors when a boat capsized off Lebanon’s coast owing to an economic crisis. Which has increased dangerous maritime crossings.
According to the marine forces, a boat capsized during an attempt to sneak them out illegally, killing 48 people, including a young child.
Migrant Boat Rescue Operations
The army claimed that most persons on board got saved, although they didn’t disclose which countries they were from.
Hours after bringing a little girl’s body back to Tripoli’s shores, the army was said to have recovered five more bodies off the coast.
The 10-meter (33-foot) boat, built-in 1974, was packed with around 60 would-be migrants and went out to sea without any safety procedures in place, according to Lebanon’s navy commander Haisam Dannaoui.
When the ship set sail from Qalamoun, south of Tripoli, the army attempted to stop it, but they were unable to get there in time, says Dannaoui.
Two navy patrols engaged in a maritime pursuit to compel the migrant boat to turn around.
Skipper Dannaoui alleged that his ship collided with police ships because “he (the boat’s captain) decided to carry out maneuvering to escape.”
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Crash Survivors Blame the Naval Force
He claimed the collision fractured the vessel’s hull as the boat sank.
“In less than five seconds, the boat was submerged,” Dannaoui said, adding that passengers were given life jackets as swiftly as possible.
Some survivors said a ship purposely collided with their boat to push them back.
At the dock, one survivor said, “The patrol boat slammed into us twice…to drown us,”. Before, he was subdued and escorted away by a swarm of survivors’ family members.
Growing Public Anger in Tripoli
The citizens of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-largest city and one of the poorest, got infuriated by the recent episode. Tripoli has become a launching pad for migrants due to the city’s rising poverty and unemployment rates.
Recurring tragedies should be stopped by the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, Najat Rochdi.
She said that Lebanese are risking their lives out of deprivation on Twitter. “It’s horrible,” she added.
Protests outside the Tripoli residence of Libyan Prime Minister Najib Mikati. He designated Monday a day of national mourning to honor the deaths, organized on social media.
Victims’ and missing people’s loved ones screamed at the country’s leaders.
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Conclusion
Lebanon faces a financial catastrophe comparable to war, a nation of around six million people.
Its currency has lost nearly 90% of its buying value, and most citizens are poor. Between January and November 2021, at least 1,570 persons, 186 of them Lebanese, fled or attempted to escape Lebanon by water through migrants boats. And to this day, they continue to do so!
