Cypriot health authorities reported today, Thursday, the death of a child who was found unconscious on a boat that had been sailing for days in the eastern Mediterranean. The child was part of a group of 60 Syrians discovered by a Cypriot search and rescue team on an overcrowded fishing boat 30 nautical miles off the coast of Cyprus on Wednesday morning. The group had been at sea since January 18, after departing from Lebanon.
A spokesperson for the Cypriot National Health Organization told Alpha Cyprus television, "Unfortunately, a child among three children has died. It was an unexpected death due to cardiac arrest." Two other children found unconscious on the boat are currently in the intensive care unit in the capital, Nicosia.
Cyprus experienced a surge in illegal immigration by sea last year, with the number of arrivals reaching 4,259 in 2023 compared to 937 in 2022. Cyprus is located approximately 160 kilometers from the coasts of Syria and Lebanon, and tensions in the Middle East raise concerns about a potential increase in the number of migrants.
Cypriot Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou stated he would raise the issue of the need for enhanced patrols during a meeting with his European Union counterparts at an informal summit taking place today. Cyprus also wishes for the EU to consider declaring some areas in Syria as safe zones, which would allow authorities to repatriate illegal migrants and prevent future arrivals.
