Refugee, migrant sea arrivals in EU top 67,000 in January
Xinhua, February 2, 2016 Adjust font size:
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday that 67,193 refugees and migrants reached Europe by sea in January this year while 368 lost their lives attempting do to so.
This represents a marked increase from January 2015 figures when 5,000 arrivals and 82 fatalities were registered.
IOM statistics show that 62,193 of last month's total arrivals were reported in Greece with the remaining 5,000 migrant and refugee maritime arrivals taking place in Italy.
Surveys carried out by the Greek authorities indicate that 91 percent of registered sea arrivals in the Southern European country hailed from Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq.
The Eastern Mediterranean route separating Turkey and Greece was by far the deadliest passage for refugees and migrants vying to reach European shores, claiming the lives of 272 people.
The central Mediterranean route linking North Africa with Italy saw 96 people lose their lives last month.
Official estimates indicate that at least 3,711 migrants died in 2015 while crossing the Mediterranean, up from 3,279 two years ago. Enditem