IOM calls for int'l probe into Mediterranean shipwreck deaths

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday called for an international investigation of recent Mediterranean shipwrecks in light of the reported discovery of the sunken vessel holding the remains of hundreds of victims.

The Italian navy reported on Thursday that a nautical robot probed a damaged vessel discovered at a depth of 375 meters, some 85 nautical miles (157 km) northeast of Libya's coastline. They believe this is the same craft lost on April 18, with as many as 800 passengers on board, with 28 survivors later evacuated to Italy.

"If it is true that hundreds of migrants seeking to reach Europe were trapped below decks on a hopelessly unseaworthy vessel, this can only be described as murder, which warrants an international investigation," said IOM director general William Lacy Swing.

New statistics confirm 2015 is proving to be an even deadlier year than 2014, when nearly 3,300 migrants perished trying to enter Europe by sea.

IOM estimates that total migrant deaths from Mediterranean crossings stand at 1,829 so far this year, compared to 207 through May 7, 2014.

According to IOM, this year the smugglers' modus operandi also seems to have changed, since migrants are now arriving in larger numbers in a considerably shorter time frame.

IOM's team in Italy has noted a continuing trend of growing numbers of women from Africa, particularly Nigerians, many of whom are being trafficked into the sex industry.

"In the first four months of 2015, we have registered an increase in the number of incoming Nigerian women, three times as many as during the same period last year," said Federico Soda, director of the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean in Rome.

Established in 1951, IOM is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration. Endit