A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Lebanon on Saturday, killing two and leaving another 200 to be rescued as increasing numbers make the risky journey to flee a collapsed economy.
An AFP correspondent in the impoverished port city of Tripoli said men, women and children - mostly refugees from Syria but also about 50 Lebanese - were on board the vessel when it got into difficulty.
"Three naval ships, accompanied by another from UNIFIL (the UN mission in Lebanon), arrived at the site... off Selaata and personnel saved some 200 people," the army said on Twitter.
A separate tweet said two people had died.
Earlier, the army said a naval patrol had been dispatched to rescue the vessel packed with people attempting to "illegally leave Lebanese waters".
On Twitter, UNIFIL confirmed it was assisting the Lebanese Navy "in search and rescue operation at sea between Beirut and Tripoli where a boat in distress with a large number of people on board was found."
Dozens of relatives of those rescued streamed into Tripoli port to await their return to shore, AFP's correspondent said.
UK coastguard responds to migrant emergency in English Channel - in pictures
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A life boat returns to the Port of Dover in England amid a rescue operation of a missing migrant boat. Reuters -
Police and coastguard officers gather at Dover. People are feared to have died after a small boat carrying migrants got into difficulty in the English Channel. Reuters -
Air Ambulance personnel arrive in Dover. EPA -
Forensic tents at the lifeboat rescue station are set up at the port. AP -
Ambulances at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station in Dover. PA -
The RNLI station being readied to receive boats returning from the incident in the English Channel. PA -
An ambulance arrives at the port. PA
Lebanon is mired in what the World Bank describes as one of the worst economic crises in modern history. The country also hosts more than a million refugees from Syria's civil war.
It was once just a launchpad for foreign migrants, but nearly three years of economic collapse have left Lebanon's own citizens increasingly joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees clamouring to leave by dangerous sea routes.
"We can no longer live in this country - or Syria," said Younes Jomaa, a Syrian originating from Idlib and a brother of one of the surviving migrants.
Migrants cross from Morocco to Spanish enclave of Melilla - in pictures
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Migrants attempt to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Friday. All photos: AP Photo -
It was the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. -
Riot police cordon off the area. -
A migrant is detained by police on Spanish soil. -
Migrants attempt to run free after crossing into the Spanish enclave. -
Hundreds of African migrants attempted the crossing. -
More than 500 migrants managed to enter a border control area after cutting through a fence with shears. -
Thirteen migrants died of injuries sustained in the incursion, in addition to five who were confirmed dead earlier in the day. -
Seventy-six migrants were reportedly injured trying to cross. -
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the 'violent assault'.
They are among millions displaced over more than a decade by Syria's war.
"I had planned to go with my brother, but was unable to get enough money together," Mr Jomaa said, adding that his brother had taken on debt to fund his voyage.
Migrant children rescued in French waters - in pictures
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Migrants are rescued by crew members of the 'Abeille Languedoc' ship after their boat's generator broke down in French waters as they were trying to cross the Channel illegally to Britain. All photos: AFP -
Migrants wait for help in the Channel. -
A child is rescued by crew members of the 'Abeille Languedoc'. -
The 'Abeille Languedoc' is an ocean-going tug specialising in the rescue of vessels in distress. -
Migrant children on the rescue boat. -
The 'Abeille Languedoc' has been moored in Cherbourg for 26 years, monitoring the Channel between the Cotentin and the Pas-de-Calais. -
Migrants sit on board the 'Abeille Languedoc' after being rescued. -
A rescuer carries a child as they disembark from the 'Abeille Languedoc'.
In late September around 100 migrants died when their boat sank off the Syrian coast after departing from Lebanon, in one of the deadliest such episodes.
Migrants departing from Lebanon head for Europe, with one of the of the main destinations being Cyprus, only 175 kilometres away.
The UN's refugee agency UNHCR has said at least 1,570 individuals, including 186 Lebanese nationals, had embarked or tried to embark on illicit sea journeys from Lebanon between January and November 2021.
