Rescue teams from three countries and the United Nations stepped up their search on Friday for any survivors from a freighter which sank in stormy seas off Lebanon, but they found only bodies. Nine bodies have now been recovered after the Panamanian-flagged Danny F II, which was transporting livestock, went down in bad weather on Thursday, rescue officials said.
Thirty-eight crew members have been found alive, a Lebanese military spokesman said, leaving 35 passengers and crew unaccounted for. Tripoli port and UN officials said nine Lebanese vessels together with a medical crew and three boats of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were taking part in the extended search.
Syrian boats were also involved, as was a British helicopter which flew from Cyprus for backup on Thursday and found three of the five bodies located on Friday. "The search is still ongoing on the site and in all the surroundings. But the weather is still very bad this morning," UNIFIL deputy spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP earlier. The weather office at Beirut airport said heavy winds and rain were expected to lash northern and eastern Lebanon until Saturday morning.
Thirty survivors, soaking and wrapped in blankets, were ferried into the Lebanese port city of Tripoli aboard UN boats, an AFP correspondent said. Another eight were helicoptered to land, suffering from extreme exhaustion. Looking terrified and weak, the survivors were put aboard waiting ambulances and taken to hospital. Most were Pakistanis and Filipinos, while a Ukrainian was also on the list.
The vessel capsized about 11 nautical miles off Tripoli after sending a distress signal at around 3:55 pm (1355 GMT) on Thursday. It had changed course and was trying to reach the Lebanese capital of Beirut when disaster struck. "Rescue efforts are being hampered by the fact that we're operating in an area where the waves are as high as three metres (10 feet) and because of the floating dead animals," a Tripoli port official said late on Thursday.
The ship's operator, Agencia Schandy, told AFP in Montevideo that the Danny F II had a crew of 76 and six passengers - four Uruguayans, one Brazilian and an Australian. It had left Montevideo on November 29 with about 10,000 sheep and almost 18,000 cattle bound for Tartus, north of Tripoli, but was forced to change course because of the bad weather. All of the animals were presumed lost.
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