2 Dead After Boat Carrying 200 Migrants Sinks off Lebanon
A boat carrying about 200 migrants sank off the coast of Lebanon, leaving two people dead. The boat that sank on Saturday was carrying men, women, and children mostly from Syria as well as about 50 Lebanese migrants. Three ships from Lebanon’s navy as well as a boat from the United Nations mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, rescued the migrants and took them to Tripoli.
Migrants leave Lebanon heading for Europe, usually destined for Cyprus, which is the closest European shore, some 110 miles away.
On Friday, 13 Moroccan migrants were killed when a boat carrying 45 people attempting to reach the Spanish Canary Islands hit a rock and sank, some 10 minutes after it left from near the town of Mirleft. Tens of thousands of migrants attempt to reach Europe each year through Spain.
