Relatives lose contact with Lebanese migrant ship near Malta

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Activists and relatives have lost contact with a fishing boat carrying some 60 Lebanese and Syrian migrants adrift near the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. A passenger’s relative and Alarm Phone, an activist networks, said Tuesday that they lost touch with the vessel overnight. The migrants have been without food, water, and baby formula for several past days. According to the relatives, a third child died and the migrants are struggling to take care of water leaking into the overcrowded boat and a failing engine. Maltese authorities have not confirmed whether a rescue operation had been launched. The boat set sail from cash-strapped Lebanon over a week ago, trying to reach Italy.