Hope for more Lebanon shipwreck survivors fades

A lucky 40th survivor was found yesterday from a ship that sank two days ago in rough seas off northern Lebanon with more than 80 people on board, as hope for other rescues faded.

Officials in Tripoli port had all but lost hope of finding more survivors, after three navy vessels returned to shore two hours later empty-handed, an AFP correspondent said.

The latest survivor, a Filipino, had been recovered near Syria's Mediterranean coast further north earlier the same day, bringing to 40 the number of people rescued, with 11 dead bodies also found.

"Syrian authorities found a survivor off the coast of Tartus aboard a raft, a Philippines national named Wilson Vincent," port authority chief Ahmad Tamer told AFP in Tripoli.

"We have checked and his name was on the list. His condition is stable."

But Tamer warned that hope of finding any others was diminishing by yesterday evening.

Rescue teams have been battling rough conditions in the hunt for survivors from the Danny F II, a freighter which went down in a storm last Thursday with its British captain among those believed to have drowned.

The search "is ongoing, but we've covered our waters, and sadly there don't seem to be any signs of more survivors or bodies," a Lebanese military spokesman told AFP earlier.

Lebanese and Syrian vessels as well as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were involved in rescue efforts, as was a British helicopter from Cyprus.

But officials were hesitant to say more than 30 people still missing were presumed dead after two days of heavy winds and torrential rain.