https://arab.news/8aks4
- A forensic examination determined they had drowned three days earlier, the ministry said
- It was not immediately clear how they ended up in the sea, a Lebanese official said
BEIRUT: Three Lebanese sisters have been confirmed dead after their bodies were found two days ago on the Syrian coast of Tartus.
It comes a week after their disappearance, when they fled their family home last Sunday. Their father later reported them missing to security agencies.
The eldest, Carole Hajj Hussein, 25, and the two younger sisters, Aida, 17, and Mirna, 16, lived in Bziza village, Koura district, north Lebanon.
A close friend of the father said: “The girls ran away from home to the northern coast of Chekka. In the evening they called their brother asking him to take care of their mother and telling him that this would be the last time they contacted him, and that he will never hear from them anymore.
“The grieving family left home and told people they were going to bring their daughters back. No one could explain what happened or how the dead bodies reached Tartus, which is 80 kilometers away from Chekka. There is a lot of speculation among family members.”
The family does not know the circumstances behind the deaths. The girls left home without any luggage, money or identification cards.
However, neighbors who know the father claimed that “he was very cruel in the upbringing of his children.”
Last Saturday, Syrian authorities declared that they had found the dead bodies on a beach.
The mayor of Al-Hamidiyah in Tartus governorate told the SANA news agency: “Most likely, the boat that carried the girls capsized due to heavy storms in the region.”
The Lebanese Embassy in Damascus said it is “in contact with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the dead bodies of the girls which were found on the beach of Tartus, to confirm whether they were Lebanese.”