Dozens of migrants killed as boat sinks off Syrian coast

At least 34 migrants have drowned and 20 are in hospital being treated after the boat they were travelling in sank off Syria’s coast. 

According to the survivors, the boar was carrying between 120 and 150 people from Minyeh, near the Lebanese port city of Tripoli. 

Officials say the rescue operations are ongoing despite the difficult conditions. 

Lebanon hosts an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees and almost 14,000 from other countries, according to UNHCR. It hosts the largest number of refugees per capita. 

But the country is in its worst economic crisis – fuelled by Covid-19 and the Beirut port explosion, with more than 80 per cent of the population struggling to afford food and medicine. The current economic crisis is severely impacting the country’s migrant population, many of who are attempting to now flee to Europe.