Rescue teams gather in Tripoli on Saturday night. (Credit: Photo provided by Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — The search continued Sunday morning for possible survivors of a boat carrying more than 60 people that sank off the coast of Tripoli in North Lebanon late last night, leaving at least one person dead.
Here’s what we know:
• The Army Command issued a statement Sunday saying that naval teams had managed to rescue 47 people and recover the body of an infant girl, all of whom were aboard “a boat that sank while trying to smuggle them illegally off the Qalamoun beach.” The statement adds, “the Navy worked, with the support of air force helicopters and a Cessna plane, to tow the boat and rescue most of those on board,” explaining that the shipwreck resulted from “high waves and the overload of the boat.”
• One person has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the smuggling operation, according to the army, and an investigation has been launched into the incident.
• Meanwhile, Benin al-Abda Civil Defense teams have been combing the coast in the area since the early hours of Sunday morning in search of possible survivors, the state-run National News Agency reported.