(Reuters) -One child has died but more than 40 people have been saved following the sinking of a boat off the coast of Lebanon’s northern port city of Tripoli on Saturday, Transport Minister Ali Hamie told Reuters.
The Lebanese Red Cross said in a tweet that there were about 60 people on board.
The Lebanese government said in a statement that Prime Minister Najib Mikati is following the sinking of a boat carrying passengers that departed illegally from the Qalamoun area, south of Tripoli.
Lebanon’s economic crisis has pushed waves of Lebanese as well as Syrian refugees to try the dangerous sea journey to Europe on small dinghies.
Tripoli is Lebanon’s second city and is the poorest city on the Mediterranean, according to the United Nations’ Habitat programme.
(Reporting by Moataz Mohamed and Ahmed Tolba;Editing by Leslie Adler)
