BEIRUT (AP) The bodies of 34 Lebanese asylum seekers who drowned after a boat accident off the coast of Indonesia last month were brought home Thursday, airport officials said.
The officials said the bodies were brought aboard a jet rented by the Lebanese government. The 34 were among nearly 80 people who were on the boat when it sank. The boat was en route between Indonesia and Australia.
Some were able to swim to safety to a nearby shore and earlier returned to Lebanon.
Hundreds of friends, relatives and families of the dead were at the Beirut airport to receive the remains of their loved ones. The bodies were later taken for burials in their hometowns.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the bodies underwent DNA tests before they were brought to Lebanon.
