Families mourn as death toll from sunken Lebanon migrant boat rises to 86

The death — toll from a migrant boat that sank off the Syrian coast after sailing from Lebanon earlier this week has risen to 86, Syrian state TV reported on Saturday.

The sinking marks the deadliest such voyage yet from Lebanon, where mounting economic desperation has led many to board often rickety and overcrowded boats in the hope of reaching Europe.

Syrian authorities began finding bodies off the coast of the city of Tartus on Thursday afternoon. The Syrian Transport Ministry has quoted survivors as saying the boat left from Lebanon’s northern Miniyeh region on Tuesday with between 120 and 150 people onboard,