At least 9 Palestinians drown fleeing from Syria to Turkey
Boat carrying some 40 refugees from Yarmouk camp capsizes en route to Turkey, Lebanese media says
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says a boat carrying about 40 Palestinians from a refugee camp in Syria capsized en route to Turkey and that at least nine migrants drowned.
Wednesday’s report says the vessel left the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli on Monday and capsized after entering Turkish territorial waters. It says those on board were Palestinians from the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.
NNA says women and children were among the dead. It says survivors were taken to hospitals in Turkey.
The UN says about 264,500 people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, trying to reach Europe. That compares to 219,000 for all of 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.
IOM estimates almost 2,350 people have died this year on those sea journeys.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.