BEIRUT — The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement Sunday night that they "are deeply saddened by the latest tragic incident at sea in which a boat reportedly carrying 84 people capsized off the coast of Tripoli." Meanwhile, in Beirut, protesters gathered in front of Prime Minister Najib Mikati's house, casting blame on the government for the tragedy.

Here's what we know:

  • Six people, including an infant, have been confirmed dead after a migrant boat attempting to leave Lebanon capsized off the coast of Tripoli late Saturday night. Forty-five people have been rescued, and 33 people are missing, including Lebanese and Palestinians, L'Orient's correspondent in Tripoli reported. A Lebanese Army spokesperson told L'Orient Today that all six of those confirmed dead were Lebanese.

  • “This tragic event underscores the shockingly high risks that many people are resorting to out of desperation. Shipwrecks, tragic deaths and further suffering could be avoided, but it is crucial that continuous support is mobilized to help Lebanon as living conditions worsen for refugees and Lebanese alike,” Ayaki Ito, UNHCR Representative to Lebanon, said in a statement.

  • “Lebanon’s economic crisis has triggered one of the largest waves of migration in the country’s history,” said Mathieu Luciano, Head of IOM Lebanon said in the statement. “Driven by increasingly desperate economic circumstances, a growing number of people are leaving Lebanon through unsafe means. Safe and legal alternatives to irregular migration are urgently needed, including support to local livelihoods and improved access to services in communities at risk.”

  • Some survivors have said that the boat was rammed twice by an army patrol boat prior to sinking. The army denied this accusation, saying that the captain of the migrant boat tried to carry out maneuvers to escape the Lebanese naval patrol, which resulted in the boat hitting the Army vessel.

  • Protesters gathered outside of Mikati's house in downtown Beirut Sunday night in solidarity with the people impacted by the incident in Tripoli. Mikati, who is from Tripoli and who recently appeared on Forbes's list of the richest Arabs, has been criticized for not doing more to assist the people of his largely impoverished hometown.

  • In Tripoli and Akkar, protesters sporadically blocked roads on Sunday, with some attacking a military checkpoint in Tripoli and others ripping posters of politicians from the city's walls. Late Sunday night, protesters were gathering in the central Nour Square, the National News Agency reported.

  • Apart from yesterday's incident, the UN agencies said, at least three smuggler boats departed Lebanon, carrying 64 passengers. Two of them were intercepted before departing Lebanese waters.