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Mediterranean death toll rises amid latest migrant tragedies

Xinhua, October 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Some 3,329 Mediterranean migrant deaths have been reported in the first ten months of this year, a significant increase compared to last year's total maritime death toll which stood at 3,149, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.

Latest drownings in the Aegean Sean on Wednesday and Thursday have contributed to these tragic figures, with the number of deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean route now totalling 435 this year.

"The tragedy in the Mediterranean has no end," IOM Greece's Kelly Namia noted, amid reports received Friday morning of a wooden boat capsizing off the coast between Kalymnos and Kalolimnos, killing at least 14 people on Thursday.

According to IOM, the number of deaths off Greek islands, especially Lesvos and Samos, have surged with the arrival of cold weather that combined with bad conditions and rough seas is making sea searches increasingly difficult.

Despite these adverse conditions, daily arrivals of migrants and refugees are continuing at high levels, with 6,637 migrants reaching Greek shores on Oct. 27 and a further 6,635 the next day.

On Oct. 28, a total of 1,042 migrants were rescued at sea by the Italian Coast Guard working in cooperation with the Irish, British, German and Slovenian navies in the Channel of Sicily.

"Sea conditions are deteriorating this time of year and the risk of shipwrecks is very high in the Channel of Sicily, where so far this year, 2,860 migrants have lost their lives. The work carried out by the ships patrolling the area is extremely efficient, as rescuing over 1,000 people at sea in just 24 hours is a very difficult and dangerous task," said Director of the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean Federico Soda. Enditem