Two dead, 200 rescued in Lebanon migrant boat sinking

Two migrants died and another 200 were rescued on Saturday when their boat sank off Lebanon's northern coast, from where increasing numbers make the risky journey to flee a collapsed economy.

An AFP correspondent in the impoverished port city of Tripoli said men, women and children — mostly refugees from Syria but also about 50 Lebanese — were on board the vessel when it got into difficulty.

"Three naval ships, accompanied by another from UNIFIL (the UN mission in Lebanon), arrived at the site... off Selaata and personnel saved some 200 people," the army said on Twitter. A separate tweet said two people had died.

Earlier, the army said a naval patrol had been dispatched to rescue the vessel packed with people attempting to "illegally leave Lebanese waters".
On Twitter, UNIFIL confirmed it was assisting the Lebanese Navy "in search and rescue operation at sea between Beirut & Tripoli where a boat in distress with a large number of people on board was found."

Dozens of relatives of those rescued streamed into Tripoli port to await their return to shore, AFP's correspondent said.

Lebanon is mired in what the World Bank describes as one of the worst economic crises in modern history. The country also hosts more than a million refugees from Syria's civil war.

"We can no longer live in this country — or Syria," said Younes Jomaa, a Syrian originating from Idlib and a brother of one of the surviving migrants.  They are among millions displaced over more than a decade by Syria's war.

"I had planned to go with my brother, but was unable to get enough money together," Jomaa said, adding that his brother had taken on debt to fund his voyage.

Agence France-Presse