Nearly 2,000 daily refugee, migrant arrivals in EU in Jan.: IOM

Since the beginning of the year, some 55,528 refugees and migrants have entered Europe by way of the Mediterranean Sea, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported Friday.

Representing close to 2,000 refugee and migrant arrivals in Europe per day, IOM figures show that 244 people lost their lives attempting to reach European shores in the first 28 days of January.

By comparison, 12 people died on Mediterranean Sea routes during the same period two years ago, while 82 fatalities were recorded in 2015.

A total of 218 fatalities were recorded on the Eastern Mediterranean route separating Turkey and Greece, while 26 people lost their lives on the central Mediterranean passage linking North Africa and Italy.

IOM figures show that 52,055 refugees and migrants have arrived in Greece so far this year while 3,473 arrivals have arrived in Italy. Endit