Nearly 50 rescued after migrant boat sank off Lebanon

 The Lebanese army rescued 48 people this weekend after the boat they were using in an attempt to flee the country sank off the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported on Sunday.

The boat was carrying 60 people when it sank on Saturday due to high waves and overloading, the agency quoted an army statement as saying. Rescue operations are underway for others who are still missing.

Eight bodies were recovered on Sunday, Lebanese TV broadcaster Al Jadeed reported, quoting Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh. The body of a girl was retrieved late on Saturday, according to NNA.

One Lebanese man was detained on suspicion of involvement in smuggling the migrants, the army said.

The boat was carrying Lebanese and foreign migrants seeking to reach Europe when it sank, Lebanese media reported.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun ordered an investigation, the agency reported.

One survivor blamed the mishap on a navy boat.

“As we approached Tripoli and were trying to enter international waters, a navy boat came near and asked us to stop,” Naji Fawal, a Lebanese survivor, said. 

“The navy boat circled several times around our boat, which didn’t stop and crashed into the navy boat and sank,” he told dpa.

Fawal said he was attempting to leave Lebanon due to what he called an “unbearable life” in the country.

Lebanon is experiencing its worst financial crisis in decades. The World Bank has described the crisis as among the world’s most severe since the mid-1800s.