Arafat Hasan: A boat carrying at least three dozen Syrian refugees sank off the coast of Lebanon yesterday. Although most were rescued by the Lebanese army, at least one child drowned, security sources said.
The boat was ferrying the refugees illegally to Cyprus, some 180 km (110 miles) away, when it started to sink off the coast of northern Lebanon, sources said. Three of the people on boat were in a serious condition in hospital.
According to the UNHCR, Lebanon is hosting around 1 million registered refugees from Syria’s civil war. However, the Lebanese government puts the figure at around 1.5 million.
-Source: Arab News