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Close to 1 mln refugees, migrants reach Europe this year: IOM

Xinhua, December 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

As the world marks International Migrants Day, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Friday that some 990,671 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe so far in 2015 via a combination of land and sea routes.

"With about two weeks remaining on the calendar, it is virtually certain 2015's total will surpass the one million mark, which would be nearly five times 2014's total," IOM indicated in a statement.

Figures show that 956,456 people arrived on EU shores via sea, with the remaining 34,215 reaching Europe by irregular land routes.

Most maritime arrivals have taken place in Greece (801,919), followed by Italy (150,317), Spain (3,845), Cyprus (269) and Malta (106), while irregular land arrivals were recorded in Bulgaria (29,959) and Greece (4,256).

IOM reported that 3,695 refugees and migrants have lost their lives so far this year while attempting to reach Europe by sea, with the central Mediterranean route claiming as many as 2,889 lives. Endit