BEIRUT: The Lebanese navy and a UN force have rescued 32 Syrian refugees whose boat broke down as they attempted to reach Cyprus, the navy said on Friday.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said it found the craft on Thursday morning after receiving reports of a missing boat.

The “small white boat”, carrying 19 men, six women and seven children, was stranded at sea northwest of Beirut, it said.

“The boat was out of fuel and the passengers had been without food and water for four days,” it said in a statement. It said Lebanese navy vessels arrived and transported the passengers to Beirut on Thursday night.

The Lebanese military said 32 Syrians and a Lebanese citizen were aboard the craft, and were attempting to reach the eastern Mediterranean island “illegally”.

The United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) has registered nearly one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Humanitarian representatives and government officials say the number is likely much higher, since many Syrians who have fled to Lebanon are not officially registered with the United Nations.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2018