Lebanon's navy rescued a boat carrying migrants that had left the country heading west across the Mediterranean, but broke down off the coast, the prime minister’s office said Saturday.
It was the latest case of desperate people — mostly Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians — sailing toward European Union member Cyprus, and sometimes Turkey, seeking to escape Lebanon's worsening economic meltdown. Some 75% of the country now lives in poverty.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office said the migrants had left Lebanon illegally, and that the navy was towing the boat shoreward. It did not say how many migrants were aboard but said some were children.
It added that there would be an investigation into the incident. Smugglers in Lebanon have made a business out of selling passage to Europe for thousands of dollars per person.
On Friday, the Internal Security Forces stormed a beach resort in the northern town of Qalamoun, where they foiled an attempt to smuggle 82 men, women and children to Europe. Police said that passengers had paid $5,000 per person, and that they had detained one of the smugglers.
