19 December 2009 / REUTERS, TRIPOLI
UN peacekeepers’ vessels and Lebanese navy boats searched on Friday for more survivors from a cargo ship carrying more than 80 people and livestock that sank in the Mediterranean off Lebanon.
Lebanese military and port sources said 38 sailors had been rescued and six bodies recovered since the Panamanian-flagged Danny FII capsized in stormy weather on Thursday. An army statement said three UN peacekeeping vessels, Lebanese army boats and Greek Cyprus-based British military helicopters were involved in overnight rescue efforts which it said were continuing after daybreak. Security sources said survival chances were looking increasingly dim for the remaining 39 missing sailors nearly 24 hours after the ship sank. Naval sources said that high waves and strong winds were hampering the search in the area where the ship sank 17 kilometers (11 miles) off the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli. Most of the survivors were brought to shore and taken to hospitals in Lebanon. The ship was transporting 43,000 sheep from Uruguay to Tartous in Syria.
