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At least nine migrants drowned off Lebanon’s Tripoli coast: State media

At least nine migrants drowned off Lebanon’s Tripoli coast

Lebanese troops retrieved eight corpses Sunday after a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized in the eastern Mediterranean, state media reported, taking the confirmed death toll to at least nine.

Nearly 60 people were believed to be onboard the boat, with more than 40 rescued, according to the Lebanese Red Cross and Transport Minister Ali Hamie.

The body of a young girl who had been on board the stricken vessel had earlier been collected from the sea.

“Forty-five people have been rescued and the corpse of one child” has been retrieved from the boat that sank near the coast of the northern city of Tripoli, Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamie told a local broadcaster.

He said around 60 people were on the vessel carrying illegal migrants out of Lebanon.

“The search is ongoing,” Hamie said.

The Lebanese Red Cross said it had sent 10 ambulances to Tripoli.

An AFP correspondent said the army had closed off the port, allowing entry only to ambulances which were zipping in and out.

The families of some of the passengers gathered to check on their loves ones but they were denied access.

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