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2016 sees fewer Mediterranean migrant deaths, double number of arrivals

Xinhua, May 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 188,075 refugees and migrants have reached Europe by sea this year, more than twice the 91,860 arrivals in the first five months of 2015, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Friday.

However, the latest migration figures reveal that the fatality rate has significantly decreased.

While 1,357 migrants have drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea as of May 11 this year, the number of deaths over the same period in 2015 amounted to 1,792, or 32 percent more than this year's death toll.

Similar to a year ago, the central Mediterranean route linking North Africa with Italy remains the deadliest migratory passage, with 976 individuals having lost their lives there.

The eastern Mediterranean passage separating Turkey and Greece has seen 376 migrants drown while endeavoring to cross the narrow strait.

A further five deaths have been reported on the Western Mediterranean and Western African routes.

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