"The death toll from the shipwreck has increased to 77 people, another 20 are receiving medical care in hospital," Hassan al-Ghabbash said, as quoted by Syrian state news agency SANA.
The rescue operation has been going on since Thursday.
On Thursday night, the head of Syrian seaports administration, Samir Kubrusli, told Syrian Sham FM radio that rescue operations were suspended due to high waves, adding that the Lebanese authorities did not warn Damascus about the missing boat with migrants and contacted Syrian authorities only after the incident.
21 September 2022, 18:07 GMT
According to Syrian media, the ship left Lebanon to reach Cyprus a few days ago, and on board were citizens of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, as well as people with unknown citizenship. One survivor said the number of passengers was around 150, Syrian media added.