The Syrian Ministry of Health reported that 34 people died today, Thursday, as a result of the sinking of a boat carrying them off the coast of the city of Tartus, while others were rescued.

The Syrian News Agency quoted the ministry as saying that 20 people who were rescued were taken to Al-Basel Hospital in Tartous, noting that the outcome is not final.

The Director General of the Suez Seaports, Samer Kobrly, said that the search operations are taking place in difficult conditions due to the raging sea waves and strong winds.

According to one of the survivors, the boat - which was carrying 150 migrants of Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian nationalities - set off from northern Lebanon a few days ago with the intention of migrating to Turkish Cyprus.

Syrian activists published videos showing the continuation of the process of transporting and rescuing the victims, and a circulating video clip showed the accumulation of drowned bodies.

The Lebanese army announced yesterday, Wednesday, that it had rescued 55 people who were on board a broken boat in the country's territorial waters.

On September 13, the Turkish Coast Guard announced the killing of 6 migrants - including two children - in the Aegean Sea, while 73 others who were trying to reach Italy were rescued after they set out from Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

The Lebanese authorities have repeatedly announced that they have thwarted irregular migration attempts by sea, and some attempts to migrate from Lebanon have ended with the boats sinking and the death of a number of those on board.