Over 110,000 refugees, migrants reach EU by sea in 2016
Xinhua, February 24, 2016 Adjust font size:
Some 110,054 refugee and migrant maritime arrivals have been reported in Europe since the start of the year, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
A breakdown of figures reveals that 102,547 of these arrivals have been registered in Greece, with the remaining 7,507 arriving in Italy.
In February alone, around 35,132 migrants, mostly Syrians (48 percent), Afghans (25 percent) and Iraqis (17 percent), reached Greek islands having crossed the Aegean Sea.
According to IOM, to date 413 people have died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea, often in dangerous embarkations compounded by hazardous weather conditions.
By far the deadliest passage, the eastern Mediterranean passage separating Turkey and Greece has claimed the lives of 321 individuals this year.
A further 92 people have died while crossing the central Mediterranean route linking North Africa and Italy.
Last year saw over one million refugees and migrants arrive in Europe. Endit