16 Syrians, most from Kobani, drown off Algerian coast
KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – North Press obtained the names of some victims of a boat carrying migrants, most of whom hail from the city of Kobani, in northern Syria, off the Algerian coast.
On June 4, a boat carrying about 25 migrants, most whom are from the city of Kobani, including women and children, sank off the Algerian coast, while they attempted to reach the Spanish shores.
The boat set off from the city of al-Arhat, in the Algerian state of Tipaza, towards Spain. Hours later, the boat reportedly sunk.
One child from Kobani survived among the passengers of the boat.
Activists and the families of the victims said that among the victims were Masoud Mustafa Muhammad, 34, and his wife Ola Abdulrrazaq, 23, as well as their daughter Larin Muhammad, 4. They were from Kobani.
The bodies of Masoud and his wife were recovered and transferred to a hospital in Algeria, while the daughter’s body is still missing, according to relatives.
Local sources told North Press that among the missing are Saleh Youssef, 17, Yasmin Jawdat Saadi, Halima Muhammad Mustafa, the minor Faraman Adib Dali and his mother, Mahmoud Kar’o Khalil, Amira Muhammad Habash, and Ahmad Kiko. All of them hail from Kobani.
Shiyar Khalil, his wife Jamila Muhammad Ali, and their two children, Azaz and Ayaz, who are from the city of Afrin, northwest Syria, are also among the missing, according to the sources.
The sources added that the Algerian coast guard recovered at least three bodies and transferred them to hospitals in Algeria, as the search for the missing is still underway.
The 17-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Rasho, from Kobani, and an Algerian young man survived after being rescued by the Algerian coast guard, Rasho’s father told North Press.
The father added that he contacted his son on June 5 via a mobile phone belonging to the Algerian security authorities.
The sunken boat was carrying 26 migrants, 18 of which were Syrians, most of them from Kobani, and eight Algerians and Moroccans, according to Violation Documentation Center in north Syria.
On March 4, a boat carrying 25 people – most of them Syrians – sank off the coast of the city of Tobruk, in Libya’s east, killing 16 Syrian migrants heading to Europe.