More than 3,000 migrants have died at sea while trying to reach either Greece or Italy since the start of this year, an increase of some 50 percent on the same period in 2015.
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The IOM revealed Tuesday its toll of those disappeared in the Mediterranean following the recent discovery of 120 corpses on the beaches of the Libyan city of Sabrata.
Since the effective halt to traffic on the Turkey-Greece migration route in March, routes from Libya have become the most popular in the world, with refugees arriving daily into Italy in their hundreds.
In this Tuesday July 19, 2016 photo, refugees and migrants from Eritrea, Mali, Bangladesh and other countries wait on board a dinghy to be rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of Sabratha, Libya. More than three-quarters of migrant deaths recorded thus far in 2016 have occurred in the Mediterranean, compared with 60 per cent during the period of January through August 2015.
The number of migrants trying to reach Europe via the Greek islands has dropped sharply since an EU-Turkey deal created to stem the flow was agreed in March. IOM data indicate an increase of migrant deaths due to violence by both smugglers and local authorities in North Africa. Of these, 64 were of Syrian asylum seekers, reportedly shot by Turkish border guards.
He said that on Friday 3621 people were rescued; on Saturday 1144; on Sunday 1188; and on Monday 1970.
Some 94,500 people have arrived in Italy by sea this year, on par with last year, according to the International Organisation for Migration…
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Kelly Namia of IOM Athens reports 118 arrivals by sea were registered on 29 July, and 6 arrivals on 30 July.
