The Lebanese Army arrested Wednesday morning in the locality of Bebnine-Abdeh, in Akkar, North Lebanon, 113 people of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian nationalities, who were preparing to migrate illegally by boat to Europe, the Lebanese Army said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.

These arrests took place during several searches in Akkar after the boat that the smugglers were going to use for their crossing was anchored on the coast of Abdeh. Among those who were going to attempt the sea crossing, most of whom were found in a warehouse, were mainly families with children.

An investigation is underway to identify the instigators of this clandestine crossing.

In the midst of a socio-economic collapse, Lebanon has become familiar with such emigration attempts, which are sometimes thwarted by law enforcement agencies, especially from the north. Last April, nearly 85 migrants left North Lebanon in a makeshift boat that was shipwrecked, of which about 40 remain missing.

A submarine search operation off the coast of Tripoli, North Lebanon, intended at extracting the bodies of some 30 people who are believed to still be trapped in the boat, was postponed Monday afternoon due to bad weather conditions after it started in the morning, the Lebanese Army announced.