According to a statement, he was reportedly aboard one of the two boats, which were carrying more than 40 Syrians, including women and children who sailed from Turkey. Some passengers who fell into the sea were reportedly taken to hospital for medical treatment.
The circumstances of the tragic loss as well as the incident have not been fully established. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is in contact with the authorities and the survivors who have been transferred to Pournara.
This is the first confirmed death in the territorial waters of Cyprus since the beginning of 2020, apart from one person who has been missing at sea since August 2021 after he jumped from the boat when it was stopped by the port authorities.
“It is heartbreaking that, out of desperation and lack of safe routes, refugees are forced to turn to traffickers and human traffickers in whom they trust their lives. “Stronger action is needed to curb the trafficking of human beings and those who exploit human suffering and despair, as well as to protect the victims,” said Katia Saha, UNHCR Representative in Cyprus. p>
In April, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees released a new report reports that more than 3,000 people have died or are missing trying to reach Europe last year, crossing the central and western Mediterranean and the Atlantic, calling for urgent action to prevent deaths and protect refugees and asylum seekers embarking on adventurous journeys by land and sea. which are traveling illegally at sea, it is reported.
They should also take steps to ensure that humanitarian aid has unhindered access to basic services to people on the move or trapped on the road, at sea or in detention centers, and to determine whether they need international protection.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The achievement of these objectives is based, in addition to search and rescue systems, on the timely identification of those in need of international protection, on the humane treatment and safeguarding of the principle of asylum procedures.
