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Maritime migrant fatalities in Mediterranean stable: report

Xinhua, May 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Figures released Tuesday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reveal that 1,357 migrants and refugees have drowned while crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe this year, a number which has remained unchanged since May 3.

A breakdown of the death toll shows that 976 people have lost their lives on the central Mediterranean passage linking North Africa with Italy.

A further 376 have died on the eastern Mediterranean route separating Turkey and Greece, while five have died on the Western Mediterranean and Western African routes.

The unchanged number of deaths comes against the backdrop of some 2,800 new arrivals, mostly in Italy, recorded in the last five days.

Latest figures reveal that 187,631 migrants have reached European shores by sea since the beginning of the year, with most of them (155,399) arriving in Greece.

Over 1 million maritime refugees and migrants crossed into Europe in 2015, a year which saw 3,770 migrants die attempting to do so. Endit