1,700 daily migrant sea arrivals in Europe recorded in first two weeks of 2016
Xinhua, January 15, 2016 Adjust font size:
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported on Friday that 23,664 refugees and migrants reached European soil by sea in the first 14 days of January this year.
Representing an average of 1,700 maritime arrivals every day, IOM indicated that 59 people had lost their lives, not including at least 14 people who died in two bus accidents in Turkey last week.
Figures show that migratory trends have remained the same as last year, which saw Greece receive the bulk of migrant and refugee arrivals with a yearly total standing at 847,084.
Greece has so far this year registered 23,302 of the total arrivals while Italy has only taken in 362, a significant drop compared to 2,171 for the country's monthly total in January 2014 and 3,528 in January 2015.
IOM reported that 50 fatalities have been reported on the Eastern Mediterranean route, while nine individuals lost their lives in the Central Mediterranean passage.
Latest estimates indicate that at least 3,711 migrants lost their lives in 2015 while crossing the Mediterranean Sea, up from 3,279 in 2014. Endit