The bodies of 61 people have been recovered off the coast of Syria, Lebanese transport minister Ali Hamiye told Reuters on Friday, increasing the death toll from an ill-fated migrant voyage from Lebanon.

Syrian authorities began finding bodies in the sea off the coast of Tartus on Thursday afternoon. Authorities have not yet said what happened to the boat.

Lebanon has seen a spike in migration driven by a devastating financial meltdown that has plunged swathes of the population into poverty over the last three years.

Syrian authorities have said around 20 survivors have been found.

The Syrian transport ministry has cited survivors saying the boat left from Lebanon’s northern Minyeh region on Tuesday with between 120 and 150 people onboard, bound for Europe.

Samer Qubrusli, the Syrian director-general of ports, said on Friday that rescue efforts were continuing.