Lebanese men look towards the sea near the Arida border crossing with Syria (Photo: Fathi Al-Masri / AFP)

The number of victims of the migrant boat that capsized off the Syrian coast after it set sail from Lebanon has risen to 94 after a number of bodies were recovered from Syria's Banias beach on the Mediterranean coast, Syrian state television said on Saturday.

فروا من الموت إلي الموت 💔😡
مأساة بكل معنى الكلمة رحم الله كل ضحايا المركب الملعون #طرطوس pic.twitter.com/Aj8Ljr4Asr
— Meraa Alsamad (@amayo3118) September 24, 2022

The Lebanese army announced earlier today that it had arrested the person responsible for the smuggling of migrants who drowned in the migrant boat off Syria.

#Syria #Lebanon : Number of those confirmed dead in sinking of boat carrying migrants off Syrian coast near Tsrtus has risen to 86 #طَرْطُوس #لبنان pic.twitter.com/3xwac6usI7
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) September 24, 2022

In a statement, the Lebanese army said on Saturday, "On September 21, 2022, the Intelligence Directorate arrested citizen B.D. on suspicion of his involvement in smuggling illegal migrants across the sea. Investigation proved that he was involved in running a network active in smuggling illegal migrants across the sea, starting from the Lebanese coast and extending from Al-Arida in the north to Minya in the south."

Last Thursday, the Syrian authorities found dozens of bodies off the coastal city of Tartus, while others were rescued from the boat that sailed a few days ago from northern Lebanon. Estimates of the number of its passengers ranged between 100 and 150 Lebanese individuals, in addition to Syrian and Palestinian refugees.

Lebanon has been witnessing a significant rise in migration rates, driven by a devastating economic collapse that left large segments of the Lebanese people suffering from poverty in recent years.