Migrant boat on way to Cyprus sinks off Lebanon, most rescued

A boat carrying three dozen Syrian refugees on board sank off the coast of Lebanon on Saturday on its way to Cyprus and most were rescued by the country’s army but at least one child, aged 5, died.

The boat was ferrying refugees illegally to Cyprus, and four more people were transferred to the hospital after it sank.

The boat was some 180km away from the island, when it foundered off the coast of northern Lebanon, sources said. Three more of the people on boat were in a serious condition in hospital.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that after receiving information about the boat it arrived at the scene immediately and it pulled it shore.

Lebanon is hosting around 1 million registered refugees from Syria’s civil war, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR although the Lebanese government puts the figure at around 1.5 million.