Over 20 Lebanese immigrants drowned in Indonesian sea

More than 20 Lebanese illegal immigrants drowned on Friday while they were sailing in the Indonesian sea. About 20 of the victims were from of the town of Qabeit, in Akkar district, north Lebanon, Ahmad Mohammad Darwish, mayor of Qabeit, stated to KUNA, adding that they passed away when their ferryboat sank into the sea while sailing from Indonesia to Australia this morning. Darwish noted that only seven people survived the incident; including Lebanese Ibrahim Abdulwahed Omar, who telephoned his father in Lebanon about the sinking of the ferryboat in the Indonesian regional water. In the same context, another survivor affirmed to LBC TV Channel that 20 Lebanese citizens, mostly women and children, drowned when their ferryboat faced a technical difficulty during sailing, adding that other survivors swam to nearby islands. Also, he pointed out that the ferryboat crew members were from various nationalities, adding that he personally paid them around USD 9,000 to 10,000 to smuggle him and his family from Indonesia to Australia